TRENTON , New Jersey ( CNN ) -- The man who raped and killed 7-year-old Megan Kanka -- the 1994 crime that inspired `` Megan 's Law '' -- is one of eight men whose sentences were commuted to life in prison this week as part of New Jersey 's new ban on execution . Megan Kanka 's killer , Jesse Timmendequas , is among eight men whose sentences were commuted to life . The Garden State on Monday became the first state in more than three decades to abolish the death penalty after a commission ruled the punishment is `` inconsistent with evolving standards of decency . '' Gov . Jon Corzine the day before commuted the sentences of eight men sitting on the state 's death row . They will now serve life in prison without parole , according to the governor 's office . Among the eight is Jesse Timmendequas , 46 , who was sentenced to death in June 1997 for Megan 's murder . Prosecutors said Timmendequas lured Megan to his home by saying he wanted to show her a puppy . He then raped her , beat her and strangled her with a belt . A day later , he led police to her body . `` Megan 's Law , '' introduced after her death , requires that authorities notify neighbors when a sex offender moves into an area . Timmendequas had twice been convicted of sex crimes -- on 5- and 7-year-olds -- before he murdered Megan . In signing Monday 's bill , Corzine called it a `` momentous day '' and made New Jersey the first state to ban capital punishment since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated it in 1976 . `` It 's a day of progress for the state of New Jersey and for the millions of people across our nation and around the globe who reject the death penalty as a moral or practical response to the grievous , even heinous , crime of murder , '' Corzine said . Society is not forgiving criminals , the Democratic governor insisted , but the law is necessary because `` government can not provide a fool-proof death penalty that precludes the possibility of executing the innocent . '' Watch Corzine sign the document » . `` Society must ask , '' he continued , `` is it not morally superior to imprison 100 people for life than it is to execute all 100 when it 's probable we execute an innocent ? '' The state Assembly approved the measure Thursday by a 44-36 vote after the Senate OK 'd it 21-16 . New Jersey has not executed a prisoner since 1963 . The new legislation replaces the death penalty with life in prison without parole . The bill was introduced in November after a state commission concluded capital punishment was an ineffective deterrent to crime . Since the Supreme Court 's reinstatement of the death penalty , almost 1,100 people have been executed in 37 states . See the death penalty by state » . According to the Death Penalty Information Center , which opposes capital punishment , New Jersey joins 13 states and the District of Columbia that do not use execution as a means of punishment . E-mail to a friend . CNN 's Bill Mears and Mythili Rao contributed to this report .
NEW : Child killer Jesse Timmendequas , 46 , is now off New Jersey 's death row . New Jersey governor signs state ban on executions . Governor : `` Government can not provide a fool-proof death penalty '' Legislation replaces death penalty with life in prison without parole .