HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut's governor has signed a new law that abolishes the state's death penalty for future crimes.
    
A spokeswoman says Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed the bill Wednesday afternoon at a private ceremony with lawmakers, clergy and family members of victims.
    
Malloy issued a statement calling it "an historic moment" as Connecticut joins 16 other states that have abolished capital punishment.

He said it was a moment "for sober reflection, not celebration."
    
The law replaced the death penalty with a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of release. It does not affect the sentences of the 11 inmates already on Connecticut's death row.
    
A former prosecutor, Malloy said his position on the death penalty has evolved over the years.