TRENTON, N.J. -- New Jersey's death penalty, which has not resulted in any executions, would be put on hold while a commission studies whether the law actually deters crime and is "consistent with evolving standards of decency," under a bill passed 30-6 by the state Senate on Thursday.
It awaits possible action in an Assembly committee. The legislative session ends Jan. 9, after which it would have to be reintroduced in both houses if not enacted.
The commission would have until Nov. 15 to finish, and the moratorium would run for two months after the commission finishes.
Among those opposed was Sen. Gerald Cardinale, R-Bergen, who said, "It could send a message to those who would harm their fellow residents that we are soft on crime" and lead to the revocation of the death penalty. A co-sponsor, Sen. Robert J. Martin, R-Morris and Passaic, noted that 50 of the 60 death sentences imposed since the penalty was reinstated in 1982 have been overturned.
"Something is fundamentally flawed with that statute," Martin said.