The death penalty, Jersey style

The United States executed its 1,000th inmate in December 2005, yet the momentum against the death penalty keeps growing. Sites like The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Death Penalty Focus, Death Penalty Information Center and Witness to Innocence have seen rapid growth in both membership and influence, as more folks are starting to question both the fairness and implications of the capital punishment system.

At this point, my partner's sister would start flickering the light switch on-and-off, laughing about how another one got fried. Har har.

But leave it to New Jersey, of all places, to offer a glimmer of hope for anti-death penalty activists in 2006. Earlier this month, Jersey enacted a year-long moratorium on the death penalty, during which time a task force will review both its fairness and costs. While there's no shortage of social justice groups who helped make this happen, none seem more important than New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. Their grassroots organizing, in places as diverse as union halls and church basements, has paid off. New Jersey is one step closer to abolishing the death penalty.

This is a sweet victory. Only 37 states left to go...