Toddler’s Death Spurs Call for Conditional Restoration of Death Penalty in NJ

As the father of a two-year-old prepares to stand trial for her death in Monmouth County, a New Jersey lawmaker from nearby Lakewood launches a measure that would permit reinstatement of the death penalty in the state for such crimes.

State Senator Robert Singer's (R-30) bill would permit capital punishment to be applied to anyone who murders a child, kills a police officer in the line of duty or commits a terrorist act that results in deaths.

Singer says the law would apply to Arthur Morgan III if he either admits or is convicted of killing his two-year-old daughter. Tierra Morgan's body was found strapped into a car seat in a Wall Township creek last month.

In 2007, New Jersey's legislature became the first state governing body to abolish capital punishment since the U.S. Supreme Court restored it in 1976.

The Republican notes that the margin was slim and the vote took place after an election cycle, an indication that some of his colleagues weren't willing to risk reprisals at the ballot boxes. He says he's hoping that "cooler heads prevail" in Trenton this time.

In a statement, Singer stressed that malice and revenge are not his motivations. "I support the death penalty," he said, "because sometimes it is the only way to achieve justice for victims and families affected by horrible crimes."

Singer also considers that the lack of a corporal-punishment option leaves New Jersey justice handcuffed. "A federal officer is killed, death penalty," he says. "A Lakewood police officer is killed, no death penalty," referring to the infamous death of Patrolman Christopher Matlosz at the hand of a gunman.

The measure would require committee review and approval before it could be considered to be posted for full votes in either legislative house.