New Jersey death penalty moratorium in the works

New Jersey has essentially had a de facto (and pricey) moratorium on executions for more than two decades: as detailed here, the state has spent over $250 million on administering its capital punishment system without having executed anyone. 

Now, as a result of a state senate vote on Thursday, it appears that New Jersey will soon have an official moratorium on executions for a year while its capital punishment system is studied. As detailed in news reports from the AP and from the Newark Star-Ledger, the state Senate by a vote of 30-6 passed a bill that provides for a one-year hiatus on the death penalty while a commission studies whether the state's death penalty has deterred crime and has been "consistent with evolving standards of decency."