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As one death row inmate moved closer to lethal injection yesterday, acting Gov. Richard Codey endorsed a moratorium on executions until a proposed study commission determines whether the state's death penalty system is just, fair and worth its cost. Codey, who is also Senate president, called for the moratorium yesterday as he stalled a Senate vote on a bill that would have created a 13-member death penalty study commission. Such an action could stop any executions from being carried out for up to two years after the bill is signed. "The governor does not think it makes sense to do a study without a moratorium," said Kelley Heck, a spokeswoman for Codey. "So he does support a moratorium right now, and he supports it for 18 months to two years." New Jersey has not executed anyone in 41 years, and capital punishment is already on hold as the Department of Corrections devises new lethal injection rules. The death row inmate who has exhausted the most capital punishment appeals -- convicted murderer John Martini -- lost another round in court yesterday when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear his case. The bill would create a commission to determine whether the death penalty is consistent with "evolving standards of decency," whether it is discriminatory and whether it is worth its cost, both in money for lawyers and the risk of executing an innocent defendant. [more]

Proponents, opponents reconsider death penalty [more]
NY Death penatly deserves to die, says a public defender [more]
Calif justices weigh executions of the retarded [more]