Caldwell Photo Story

Justice NOW!
Caldwell Dominicans Join Action
to Abolish the Death Penalty in NJ

Thanks in great part to the relentless work of many, including Caldwell Dominican Sisters and Associates, the New Jersey legislature voted to repeal the death penalty and replace it with life without possibility for parole. 

 

Lois Seeligsohn, Caldwell Dominican Associate
and a very active member and leader of the
New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (NJADP) leadership team,
sparked Caldwell's participation in the struggle. 

 

Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, author of Dead Man Walking and The Death of Innocents, was present as a guest speaker at the formal bill signing in Trenton on Monday, December 17, 2007.  In her remarks, Sister Helen said,
“New Jersey will be a beacon of light
                  for the world!”

There is a re-sentencing provision in the abolition bill for current death row inmates.  Upon request through their lawyers, those inmates will be re-sentenced to life without possibility of parole.  No death row inmate will be released from prison as a result of passage of this bill. The eight death row inmates in NJ prisons in 2007 will serve life without parole sentences now.   
 

Rome, Italy flushed golden light through the arches of the Colosseum in celebration of New Jersey's abolishment of the death penalty.

Click here to read the entire story of this historic NJ law.