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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