The New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed the New Jersey death penalty study bill last Monday, and the Princeton Coalition Against Capital Punishment is rallying students to lobby Gov. James McGreevey and state senators to ensure its consideration by the full state Senate.
The bill, passed by the Assembly last January, would create an 11-member commission to examine capital punishment's deterrent effects, its cost, the high risk of wrongful conviction, whether it is fairly applied and whether the public continues to support executions.
In an email calling the committee passage a "tremendous victory," PCACP's president Shawn Sindelar '04 announced the group's letter-writing campaign.
"I am very concerned about comments made to the press by a spokesperson for the Governor, indicating that the Governor doesn't see the need for a study. In addition, Senate co-presidents Codey and Bennett have not indicated whether they will post the study bill for a vote in the Senate before the term ends," he wrote. "Let's fill their message boxes and fax machines!"
PCACP hopes to collect more than 100 letters and petition signatures by Wednesday, Sindelar said.
"This bill will have tremendous impact. It will help reveal problems with New Jersey's death penalty including the high risk of executing innocent people," he said.
The bill is of the utmost importance, both to PCACP and to the state, Sindelar said.
"This would be the most comprehensive study of executions ever done," Sindelair said. "Democrats and Republicans both agree that there are necessary reforms associated with the death penalty. There are substantial problems that need to be changed."
PCACP, a group of the Princeton Justice Project, attempts to raise awareness about the problems associated with capital punishment and is dedicated to promoting legislative change through its lobbying efforts.
By bringing anti-death penalty speakers to campus and lobbying, PCACP attempts to enact social change, Sindelar said.
In the future, PCACP will be dedicated to continuing its legislative lobbying, he said. The group is currently working with the New Jerseyans for Death Penalty Moratorium.
And now that the bill has been passed by the Senate Judiciary committee, the group will be looking to lobby the governor's office to receive bipartisan and unanimous support, Sindelar said.
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