Jon S. Corzine: “let me begin by saying how pleased I am to stand with Senator Feingold, who is a man of conscience, who has spoken out…”

“let me begin by saying how pleased I am to stand with Senator Feingold, who is a man of conscience, who has spoken out for the need for our Nation to examine the practice and application of the death penalty. His call for a moratorium, as was recently provided in the State of Illinois by their Governor, I think is an act of courage and one that is responsible if we all believe in justice, the rule of law, and fairness, which is defining to America. As I know Senator Feingold outlined, yesterday a commission in the State of Illinois on capital punishment, appointed by Governor George Ryan, released its report on the death penalty. The report raises serious concerns about the fairness of the application of the death penalty and about whether justice is being fairly applied. That commission came back with a number of very important recommendations and movement for reform. In light of that report, I wish to take this opportunity to truly underscore the effort Senator Feingold has made to raise the level of discussion about the state of the death penalty as it is applied nationally.”