This month marks the 10-year anniversary of the end of the death penalty in New Jersey. On December 17, 2007, then-Governor Jon Corzine signed an abolition bill that made the state the first to legislatively end capital punishment in the modern era.
EJUSA commemorated the 10-year anniversary by participating in an event honoring some of the champions of the repeal campaign at a celebration hosted by The Human Rights Institute at Kean University. Special honors went to former Governor Jon Corzine and one of the primary sponsors of abolition, Senator Raymond J. Lesniak.
Some members of the Executive Committee of New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (NJADP) hadn’t seen each other in many years and enjoyed the reunion. The team of 23 volunteers, 3 staff (including NJADP Executive Director Celeste Fitzgerald, who is now EJUSA’s Director of Partnerships), and EJUSA Executive Director Shari Silberstein spent thousands of hours for more than eight years to achieve the historic victory.
On the morning of the anniversary celebration, the New Jersey Star-Ledger ran and op-ed by the four lead sponsors of the successful repeal legislation, “Ending capital punishment was right thing to do for N.J.” The piece focused on one of NJADP’s founders Lorry Post, whose daughter, Lisa, was murdered more than 20 years ago.
See below for photos, a video celebrating the anniversary created by Death Penalty Action, and the recorded live-feed of the event.
Photos from the party (Click on any picture for a full-screen view with captions):
10th Anniversary Video created by Death Penalty Action:
Video from the party:
