Governors of Missouri and New Jersey Take Different Approaches to Death Penalty, Serving  Victims

December 17, 2007, JEFFERSON CITY, MO –  In a day of contrasts, the governor of Missouri endorsed legislation that would expand the death penalty, while the governor of New Jersey  supported a bill passed that day in the legislature that abolished the death penalty in the state.

At a press conference on Dec. 13 Governor Matt Blunt proposed legislation allowing the death sentence for people convicted of forcibly raping or sodomizing a child younger than 12.   Meanwhile on the same day in New Jersey, Governor Jon Corzine indicated he would soon sign a bill  passed by the General Assembly to abolish the death penalty because of flaws with capital punishment.

“We share Governor Blunt’s concern for children traumatized by sexual abuse, but we don’t believe that expanding the death penalty is the best way to address their needs,” said Rita Linhardt, who works on death penalty issues for the Missouri Catholic Conference.  “We believe that by repealing the death penalty, New Jersey will be better able to meet the needs of victims of violent crime.”

On the road to abolishing the death penalty, New Jersey held public several hearings on the death penalty.   More than a dozen murder victim family members and advocates testified that the death penalty hurts and divides surviving family members and diverts funds from victim’s services that they need.  Victim advocates noted that many family members left behind after a traumatic murder don’t have access to affordable specialized counseling services or peer support as they progress through various states of the criminal justice system.

In its study on the death penalty, New Jersey found that it was an expensive public policy--with over $253 million spent on capital punishment.  In the end the New Jersey commission recommended that the savings from abolishing the death penalty be put toward more services for  victim family members.  With capital punishment soon to be off the state law books, New Jersey can now spend more funding for victim services.

“Unlike New Jersey, our state has never studied the expense of capital punishment,” notes Linhardt.  “We have never done a thorough analysis of the cost of capital punishment including costs of investigations, prosecution, and the lengthy appeals process.  One could legitimately ask if this money could be better used for victim services or preventing  violent crime in the first place.”

The MCC supports upcoming legislation sponsored by Rep. Bill Deeken (R-Jefferson City) that would impose a moratorium on executions while a study commission examines our death penalty system.  A 2004 poll of Missourians showed that 60% favored a halt on executions while a study commission examined aspects of our death penalty system, including costs, fairness, and safeguards to prevent the execution of an innocent person.