18/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - In a declaration published on Monday 17 December, the “EU warmly welcomes” the decision by the state of New Jersey calling for abolition of the death penalty. The law, adopted the same day, makes New Jersey the 14th American state where capital punishment has been abolished. The last execution in New Jersey was in 1963, where executions are now replaced by life sentences without the possibility of early release. (A.B.)