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But Did They Listen? The New Jersey Death Penalty Commission's Exercise In Abolitionism: A Detailed Reply, Robert Blecker

Articles & Chapters

Based upon the nearly unanimous recommendation of its Death Penalty Study Commission, New Jersey seems poised to become the first state in the modern era to legislatively abolish capital punishment and substitute life without parole. Hailed nationally and internationally as thoughtful and fair, the Commission's final report consistently distorts the evidence, displays an anti-retributive bias, and worst of all, ignores basic well-established perspectives framing the great debate, avoiding at all costs the question of justice.

Unbalanced and biased, the Commission does not even consider any alternative to abolition or standing pat. This essay directly engages the Report on its findings …