Those 30 executions keep the US on pace to surpass the 98 executions, the highest number since 1976, that were performed in this country in 1999. The Democratic Republic of Congo executed 100 people last year. These alarming statistics, and many others, have caused groups around the country to speak out in recent months. Major newspapers such as The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, and The Washington Post have followed suit. The Nebraska state legislature passed a bill for a moratorium similar to Illinois's, but it was vetoed by Republican Governor Mike Johanns.
New Jersey offers another intriguing death-penalty case study.
Politicians here say that innocent people are not executed in this state. This is, strictly speaking, true, as no one has been executed in the state in the 18 years since the death penalty was reinstated there. Private investigators and reporters do it, and the system fights it tooth and nail. I don't want anyone to tell me we're so pure in New Jersey. Under proportionality review, which was first adopted by New Jersey in 1982, every death-row inmate has the right to demand that a nonpartisan court examine his sentence.