At times last week, it seemed the whole state was wrapped in an unbearably warm, soggy blanket. It made getting around hard and staying home even worse for a whole lot of people who went without power on the hottest days so far this year.

Trekking through the Statehouse parking lot in a capital city snared in a vise of heat wasn't especially pleasant unless you could factor a really worthwhile destination into the travel equation.

On July 19, that was more than a possibility, it was a reality. In fact, the uncomfortable walk took on the atmosphere of a pilgrimage as more than 100 folks who have toiled long, hard years to overturn New Jersey's death penalty headed for the first public hearing before a commission studying whether this state should continue to have a death penalty.

Among those on a pilgrim's journey to the hearing room were Bishop John M. Smith who would speak eloquently on behalf of the state's seven Catholic bishops against continuing the death penalty. Bishop Smith was the afternoon's first speaker.

He used his oratorical skills to overcome a sound system on the blink. In a clear and commanding voice that could be heard to the back of the room, he conveyed the Catholic point of view on the death penalty in plain and precise language.

In testimony limited by the commission to about five minutes, Bishop Smith said he was appearing "on behalf of New Jersey's Catholic bishops to signify their belief that the death penalty is not consistent with evolving standards of decency.

"Because the State of New Jersey has other means to redress the injustice caused by crime and to effectively prevent crime by rendering the one who has committed the offense incapable to doing any harm and because we recognize the dignity of all human life," the bishop said, "we consistently and vigorously oppose the use of the death penalty."

He referenced a 2004 Zogby International survey of American Catholics that indicates only 48 percent of the faithful now support the death penalty and a clear majority (54 percent) of church going New Jerseyans prefer life without parole over the death penalty for murder.

"While I am encouraged by these poll numbers, I believe the trend against the imposition of the death penalty will grow in our community as people learn and grow in their understanding that the death penalty is inconsistent with standards of decency," he said.

Saying that the Catholic Bishops of New Jersey have consistently addressed this issue as has the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), he noted what amounts to a full court press on the part of the Church to end capital punishment in the United States.

"The death penalty diminishes all of us. Its use ought to be abandoned not only for what it does to those who are executed but what it does to us as a society," he said. "We cannot teach respect for life by taking life."

Bishop Smith was the first of several members of New Jersey's faith community to call for replacing the death penalty with life without parole. Other clergy included Metuchen Rabbi Gerald Zelizer, past president of the International Rabbinical Assembly, and the Rev. Jack Johnson, a Methodist minister and longtime social justice advocate, testifying for the New Jersey Council of Churches.