No death row inmates would be executed until a special...

No death row inmates would be executed until a special commission takes a second look at the state's capital-punishment system under a bill passed by a state Assembly committee.
The bill recommends a temporary moratorium on executions until a proposed commission completes an 18-month study on the death penalty. The legislation represents a big victory as well as a gamble for opponents of capital punishment.
The 4-0 vote, with one abstention, by the Assembly Committee on Law and Public Safety marks the first time that a bill backed by anti-death penalty forces has been moved to a full vote.
The bill is set for a full Assembly vote according to sponsor Assemblyman Alfred E. Steele, D-Paterson. If approved, sponsors will lobby for a companion bill in the Senate currently awaiting hearings.
New Jersey has not had an execution since Ralph Hudson, of Atlantic City, was electrocuted in 1963 for the murder of his wife. But capital-punishment opponents say several of the state's 13 death row inmates are running out of appeals and face execution within three years.