Death Penalty Reinstatement Push

GOP Assembly Leader Calls for Reinstatement of Death Penalty After TX, CO Law Enforcement Murders

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

Lethal InjectionNew Jersey repealed its death penalty law in 2007, but the General Assembly’s top Republican wants it back. Asm. Jon Bramnick believes recent news headlines are reason enough:

The recent heinous killings of law enforcement officials make it clear that New Jersey must reconsider it position on the death penalty. The death penalty is the appropriate form of punishment for those who act with such a callous and blatant disregard for life. Those in law enforcement are protecting and serving the public, risking their lives each day. We must make every effort to ensure those who are responsible for taking their life face the appropriate and most severe penalty under the law.”

The death penalty is receiving renewed attention nationally after the shocking apparent murders of Kaufman County Texas District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife last week, occurring only two months after the suspected murder of that same county’s Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse.

Bramnick specifically cited two bills from his membership: A-328 and A-1032.

A-328 is sponsored by Assemblymen Ron Dancer, Dave Rible, and Mary Pat Angelini; this legislation would reinstate the death penalty for a specified class of homicides including the killings of law enforcement officers under specified conditions (e.g. when they’re on duty, or if they’re murdered because they’re officers). A-1032 is sponsored by Assemblyman Anthony M. Bucco and would reinstate the death penalty for those already convicted of murder who kill again behind bars, presumably designed to deter violence committed against state corrections officers.

Politically speaking, New Jersey Republicans have tried to do much in recent months to buoy their caucus’s pro-law enforcement credentials; another high-ranking GOP’er, David Rible, championed a bill to protect lawful gun owners (including many law enforcement officials) from having their contact information posted in public forums. The Christie Administration is facing some push back this election season from police unions who resent his first term public pension reforms. I’m sure that’s part of the calculus notwithstanding the individual merits of these proposals.

Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8405 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.

40 Comments

  1. @Jeremy…3000+ babies are killed in USA government approved abortions EVERY DAY…how do you feel about that?

  2. No, giving the government the right to kill is about as close to big government as you can get.

  3. rick, this is the republican version of the "large soda ban" for new jersey. the death penalty doesn't work and its really expensive. you want to see change? build more jails and enforce the laws on the books

  4. It's only expensive because of lawyers. Change the process then hang them in public. Sell paper view.

  5. Where the f&ck do you think we live? Afghanistan? Pakistan? Iraq? North Korea? Our troops are fighting around the world for freedom and taking “American Ideals” with them and you’re advocating for glorified street justice. Retards. BTW, I’m ex-Jersey living in Illinois now and this state has executed a bunch of people that were innocent and that is true for other states in the US.

    As much as I wish the death penalty worked, I doesn’t deter capital crime, it costs a bunch of money, and frequently innocent people are placed on death row.

  6. Nay. I've never been able to reconcile the death penalty as a pro-lifer. Also, there's no bigger government act than the judicial branch ordering someone's death

  7. I used to believe in the penalty. However, I don't trust that our government is competent enough to filter out the corruption. Living in IL definitely jades you to our government's ability to truly protect those who cannot afford defense attorneys. Too many death row inmates in IL have been set free because overzealous prosecutors sought convictions based on coerced admission of guilt.

  8. Someone had said capital punishment is legitimized street justice…it absolutely is. Capital punishment serves no useful purpose, and is a vestige of a more barbaric time. The United States is the only Westerb state that continues to use the death penalty for civilians. Who are the world's top 5 executes? 1) China 2) Iran 3) Saudi Arabia 4) Iraq 5) UNITED STATES. Thank you NJGOP for trying to move is farther up that list!

  9. Do mass murders deserve to live and get cable TV, library, exercise and free air conditioning?

  10. Also US may be no. 5 on the list but US has over 300 mil people and factor the number of death pens in US every year, it's a very low ratio I would think….

  11. We are literally the only Western country that continues to execute civilians, and not only that, we take pride in it. We should be ashamed of the policy of capital punishment!

  12. We still use the death penalty a very few times any way in the US for a country w 300 mil ppl

  13. How many executions occurred in the US last year? Brendan Joseph do you think putting a person in prison for life for murdering a bunch of ppl justice?

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