NEW JERSEY: Harbinger of Things to Come
NEW JERSEY: Harbinger of Things to Come
NEW JERSEY Bans the Death Penalty!
“A Harbinger of Things to Come” –Maybe to come–even in TEXAS?
December 13-14, 2007
Of special interest to Journey of Hope (JOH) folk:
…Among those testifying for abolition (in New Jersey) was Vicki Schieber. Her daughter, Shannon, was murdered in 1998. She and her husband stunned prosecutors by requesting that the defendant receive life in prison instead of execution… “The death penalty is a harmful policy that exacerbates the pain for murdered victims’ families,” she said. The Star-Ledger, December 11, 2007
Top Quotes on New Jersey’s Big Move:
Richard Dieter, director of Death Penalty Information Center: “We’ll be looking back 7 to 10 years from now and saying that New Jersey was the 1st.”
“We are at a unique crossroads in the history of the state, maybe the history of the country,” said former Supreme Court Justice Peter Verniero, who participated on several death penalty cases while on the bench. “New Jersey is the 1st state to repeal an entire capital punishment system. There is not a precedent for this.”
The 1st state since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the sanction in 1976 to repeal an existing statute through legislative act… “I have absolutely no doubt that other states will follow our lead,” the bill’s sponsor, Democratic Assemblyman Wilfredo Caraballo of Newark, said during a 2-1/2-hour floor debate.
“What New Jersey does will be watched very closely by other state legislators and state officials around the country,” Matthew Kennis, a field director with the international human rights group Amnesty International, said before the Assembly vote. “This is a harbinger of things to come.”
Caraballo: “In the end, it’s a matter of conscience.”
December 16th, 2007 at 8:12 am
Please go tot thejourneyofhope.blogspot.com to see more on this recent milestone in New Jersey including You Tube documentation…
Also you will find a score of photos and blogs from exonerees, family of the executed, activists–including those witht he focus of prevention (Kristin Houle), family of the murdered and much more at the same blogspot.
http://www.thejourneyofhope.blogspot.com
Thanks for tuning in! Connie L. Nash
December 17th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
Winter 2007
Greetings. We would like to share some items below. As restorative justice advances nationally and internationally it is always interesting to see what form it takes. Be encouraged.
The New Jersey Legislature has voted to abolish the death penalty in that state. Today Governor Jon Corzine signed that bill into law. Knowing many of the victims of violent crime who supported this effort after years of hard work this is a victory in their eyes.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-abolish14dec14,0,7541517.story?coll=la-home-center
The LA Times does an excellent job of reporting this news. Many of the stories we have read on the topic have excluded the voices of victims who support the abolition of the death penalty in the U.S. Capital Restorative Justice Project in North Carolina :
http://www.divinity.duke.edu/publications/2007.09/features/feature3/print_feature3.htm
Montana Department of Corrections— victims meet offenders: http://newbillingsoutpost.com/news/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19936&Itemid=27
Give Restorative Justice A Chance”, Denver, Colorado; http://www.denverpost.com/voices/ci_7323178
Former Rwandan senior government official calls for restorative justice: http://www.sit.edu/news/archive/sebarenzi.html
JRP News: we have received word that the U.S. Department of Justice, through its Office for Victims of Crime, is awarding JRP a grant to continue our work with victims of violent crime and opening doors for healing and offender accountability through victims-driven restorative justice. We are very encouraged by this.
At this time, we are seeking matching grants to allow us to fully expand our work in the U.S. We ask for you to consider an end of the year donation to JRP to allow us to continue. We will be doing outreach to victims nationally, producing a DVD to tell JRP’s story, which are the stories of victims who have experienced some degree of healing through restorative justice, as well as producing a public service announcement as part of our outreach program.
You can donate to us online at our site via Paypal. Thank you so much.
To peace and justice in 2008.
Lisa M. Rea President and Founder
The Justice & Reconciliation Project (JRP) website: http://www.thejrp.org email: jrp@mindsync.com telephone: 530-368-2026 mailing address: P.O. Box 2051, Loomis, CA 95650 U.S.A.
“Working to promote victims-driven restorative justice”
December 17th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
My letter to the editor:
Letters Editor c/o Topeka Capital-Journal 616 SE Jefferson Av Topeka KS 66607
To the Editor:
Move over California! Your place as trend leader has been replaced by the Garden State of New Jersey! Governor Corzine’s signature of the law replacing the death penalty with life without parole is a historic beginning of the end of capital punishment in this country. Very soon Maryland will follow New Jersey’s lead; many other states will likely do the same.
Abolishing the death penalty in Trenton came about because the public there got tired of the deceptions and falsehoods promised by the so called “law and order” political opportunists.
Knowledgeable District Attorneys pointed out how those few capital cases drained their resources from being able to provide full services to their respective constituencies. Police officers observed that the death penalty never served as an effective deterrent to murder. Many murder victims’ family members spoke of their prolonged suffering and stress due to the increased press exposure related to capital cases. And Legislative researchers pointed to the increased costs of trials and appeals of capital defendants awaiting execution without much likelihood of execution.
Unfortunately all of those arguments which are equally applicable to Kansas have not moved our Legislature to take similar action yet. And Kansas’ experience with capital punishment continues to be plagued with prosecutorial misconduct, judicial error, arbitrariness, covert racism, jury misconduct, withheld evidence and ineffective counsel.
Kansas Legislators need to review those issues in earnest during the next session. Any action short of replicating New Jersey’s leadership will be a sad commentary of our continued “mugwumpism”.
Bill Lucero Kansas Coordinator Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation
LOOK FOR THESE ITEMS IN OTHER PLACES WITH GREATER VISIBILITY SOON!