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Someone smack NJ upside the head

In case I haven't mentioned it in the last few weeks- I fully support the death penalty. In fact, I believe that it should be used way more often that it currently is, and should be carried out much faster once the sentence is given.

SOURCE- The New Jersey Public Defender's Office said Tuesday it won't challenge Gov. Jon S. Corzine's decision to commute the death sentences of eight men now that the state's death penalty has been abolished.

The office had questioned whether Corzine had authority to do that because the penalty of life imprisonment without chance of parole didn't exist when the men committed their crimes. But spokesman Tom Rosenthal said legal research has shown that the governor does have the authority.

Corzine commuted the sentences Monday as he signed a law making New Jersey the first to abolish the death penalty in more than 40 years. Relatives of those killed by the eight had worried that if the commutations were overturned, it could open the door to at least some eventually getting released on parole.


One of the relatives of a murder victim- who is likely the most well know victim Megan Kanka- commented that ""The only thing we can really hope for is somebody in jail will knock off these guys," he said."

Megan. I know, I see the wheels turning in your head- you know the name... but can't place it with the case. Let me refresh for you:

On July 29, 1994, Richard and Maureen had their lives shattered when their 7-year old daughter Megan was lured into a neighbor's home with the hopes of seeing his puppy. Shortly after, thirty yards from her front doorstep, Megan Kanka was raped and murdered.

Unknown to the Kankas, a convicted sex offender lived across the street. The murderer had already served six years in prison for aggravated assault and attempted sexual assault on another child. "We knew nothing about him", says Maureen Kanka.

"If we had been aware of his record, my daughter would be alive today." Letters poured into the Kanka family home with offers of support and contributions to a memorial fund. The result of this tragedy was a nationwide law. A law that would give parents what they desperately wanted: the right to know. A law that would require notification when a convicted sex offender moves into a neighborhood. A law to protect our children.


Yes, that Megan. Of Megan's Law. Her website can be found here, for those interested in more reading.

Her death could have been avoided, and because of that a law was created. Her killers life should have been taken, but now there's law preventing that.

Please, tell me- just how screwed up is that? Since when do we put the lives of the guilty above the lives of the victims?

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