Guest Opinion: Inevitability of death penalty repeal

What do police officers, crime victim advocates, prosecutors and both Democratic and Republican state legislators have in common?Recently all of these groups came together in New Jersey to support legislation to repeal that state’s death penalty. Once the bill is signed by Gov. Jon Corzine, New Jersey will become the first state to legislatively repeal the death penalty since Iowa and West Virginia did so back in 1965.The death penalty discussion is very familiar to New Mexicans. Many readers know that our House of Representatives passed a repeal bill in 2005 and again earlier this year, also with strong bi-partisan support. We are proud that New Mexico has been at the forefront of repeal efforts and we congratulate New Jersey legislators and Governor Corzine for making this sound public policy decision.In New Jersey, a special commission was appointed to thoroughly study the pros and cons of the death penalty – and to recommend measures that could fix the state’s death penalty statutes. The study found that there was no “fix” for the death penalty. In the words of one state senator, who voted to reinstate the death penalty in New Jersey in 1982, it is a “false and ineffective choice for taxpayers and residents who have lost loved ones.

If you subscribe to the newspaper, you receive FREE access to all the exclusive content of the web site! Simply register to receive uninterrupted access to our award-winning and in-depth local online content!

Renew Current or Past Subscription / Register for Online Subscription

If you currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the Los Alamos Monitor, then simply find your account number on your mailing label and enter it below.

Click the question mark below to see where your account ID appears on your mailing label.

Newspaper Acct. ID:
Street Address:	(exactly as it appears on the label)

If you are a subscriber and you do not know your account ID or don't have a copy of your newspaper available that shows the information on the address label you can click continue below to search for your account.

New Subscription/30 Day Free Trial Account

If you are new to the award winning Los Alamos Monitor and wish to get a subscription or simply gain access to our online content then please enter your ZIP code below and continue to setup your account.

ZIP Code:

Create a limited access account.
Register to participate in community forums, post on the community calendar, blog etc. This registration does not give you full access to read our award winning content, etc.

The Los Alamos Monitor | lacirculation@lamonitor.com | 505-662-4185
256 DP Road, Los Alamos, NM 87544
Office Hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday