Assembly approves death penalty moratorium

New Jersey is on the brink of becoming the first state in the nation to enact a law mandating a moratorium on its death penalty.

The Assembly yesterday gave final legislative approval to a bill that bans executions for a year to allow a commission to study the issue. Illinois is now the only state with a moratorium on executing death row inmates, but that ban was instituted by executive order in 2000 by then-Gov. George Ryan.