The Medical Society of New Jersey recently approved a resolution calling upon the American Medical Association (AMA) to advocate for the “abolition of capital punishment by each jurisdiction in the United States of America … and replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole.” Among the stated rationales for the resolution, the society noted that “Numerous reports document pernicious and recurring errors and other fallibilities associated with the judicial process of capital punishment as currently imposed that include flawed testimony provided by medical scientists.” The Society also pointed to the fact that New Jersey had recently abolished the death penalty. Currently, the American Medical Association Code of Medical Ethics states: “A physician, as a member of a profession dedicated to preserving life when there is hope of doing so, should not be a participant in a legally authorized execution.” The New Jersey delegation is scheduled to speak for the resolution at the AMA’s annual meeting in June 2010.

(“Nationwide Abolition of Capital Punishment,” Medical Society of New Jersey, by letter of Steven F. Frier, MD, Jan. 29, 2010). Click here for more Testimonies, Resolutions, Statements and Speeches on the Death Penalty.

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