Press Release

Caraballo: Bipartisan Death Penalty Repeal 'Based on Facts, Not Politics'

Release Date: Nov 20 2007

CARABALLO: BIPARTISAN DEATH PENALTY REPEAL
'BASED ON FACTS, NOT POLITICS'

(NEWARK) - Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Wilfredo Caraballo (D-Newark) - sponsor of legislation (A-3716) to replace New Jersey's unused death penalty with life imprisonment without possibility of parole - issued the following statement in response to a press conference held earlier today by Senator Gerald Cardinale:

"Senator Cardinale is fighting to preserve a flawed law with indefensible, erroneous, and reprehensible statements.

"The people of New Jersey deserve and demand a higher quality of discourse on this important life-and-death issue.   Senator Cardinale's comments demean not only the debate on the death penalty, but they demean himself.

"There is growing support for repealing the death penalty among legislators, the law enforcement community, and the general public.

"The bipartisan death penalty repeal effort is based on facts, not politics.

"Even incoming Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. has noted the imperative of the Legislature to debate this issue during its lame duck session.

"The death penalty in New Jersey has been broken for years.  It is cruel, morally infirm, ineffective, costly for taxpayers, and of little solace for the vast majority of survivors of homicide victims."

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Contact:

Assemblyman Caraballo
(973) 350-0048