New Jersey, which has the third largest Indian American population in the US, has decided to abolish the death penalty.

It will be the first American state in 40 years to do away with the death penalty. The punishment will be replaced with life sentence without parole. Eight men on death row will now be spared, reports The Guardian, London [Images].

New Jersey has not executed anyone since 1963, and in 2004 a court ruled that it should review its criminal procedures.

An NJ state commission set up for the purpose said death penalty was no deterrent to crime, expensive to administer, and sometimes resulted in the death of an innocent. It also was 'inconsistent with evolving standards of decency', the commission said.

The state senate voted in favour of the abolition on Monday, and the New Jersey followed suit on Thursday with a 44-36 vote in favour. The measure is now expected to be approved by the Democrat governor, Jon Corzine.

New Jersey will thus become the 14th American state to abolish the death penalty. However, the federal government and the military, apart from 36 other states, favour the move.

The US Supreme Court reauthorised the punishment in 1976, but recourse to the extreme measure has slowed down in the US. Last year saw 53 death penalties carried out, the lowest figure in 10 years, as the country is in the throes of a discussion over the means of execution, lethal injection. This, pro-ban activists say, is in violation of the constitution's ban on 'cruel and unusual punishment'.

Among the convicts who will be spared execution by New Jersey is Jesse Timmendequas, who killed seven-year old Megan Kanka in 1994. That murder case led to Megan's law, under which authorities are required to notify the public of sex offenders living in their neighbourhood.

Despite the slowdown in executions, in 2006 the US ranked sixth in the world in executions, behind China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq and Sudan.