This article examines how opponents of the death penalty were successful in lobbying and eventually achieving statutory repeal of New Jersey’s death penalty statute in December 2007. The primary goal of the article is to offer inspiration and guidance for similar efforts in the thirty-five states that still authorize capital punishment. In reviewing lessons learned from New Jersey, the article demonstrates that abolition proved both difficult and doubtful. Led by a small group of organizers and sympathetic legislators, the advocates of abolition faced multiple challenges. The article focuses special attention on their key strategic decisions: pursuit of both legislation and litigation and support of a temporary moratorium and study commission prior to launching a direct attack on capital punishment. The author has been able to provide a first-hand, insider’s perspective because he served as one of the two state senators who prime-sponsored the Death Penalty Repeal Act that resulted this notable political success story.