Capital punishment has been abolished in Connecticut, the 17th state to end executions.

Gov. Dannel Malloy signed the legislation this afternoon, without a public ceremony, the Waterbury American-Republican reports from Hartford. The repeal does not apply to the 11 men on death row, who "are far more likely to die of old age than they are to be put to death," the governor said in a statement.

Malloy, a Democrat and former prosecutor, called it "an historic moment," but said "it is a moment for sober reflection, not celebration."

"Many of us who have advocated for this position over the years have said there is a moral component to our opposition to the death penalty. For me, that is certainly the case. But that does not mean – nor should it mean – that we question the morality of those who favor capital punishment. I certainly don't. I know many people whom I deeply respect, including friends and family, that believe the death penalty is just. In fact, the issue knows no boundaries: not political party, not gender, age, race or any other demographic. It is, at once, one of the most compelling and vexing issues of our time. "My position on the appropriateness of the death penalty in our criminal justice system evolved over a long period of time. As a young man, I was a death penalty supporter. Then I spent years as a prosecutor and pursued dangerous felons in court, including murderers. In the trenches of a criminal courtroom, I learned firsthand that our system of justice is very imperfect. While it's a good system designed with the highest ideals of our democratic society in mind, like most of human experience, it is subject to the fallibility of those who participate in it. I saw people who were poorly served by their counsel. I saw people wrongly accused or mistakenly identified. I saw discrimination. In bearing witness to those things, I came to believe that doing away with the death penalty was the only way to ensure it would not be unfairly imposed. "Another factor that led me to today is the 'unworkability' of Connecticut's death penalty law. In the last 52 years, only 2 people have been put to death in Connecticut – and both of them volunteered for it. Instead, the people of this state pay for appeal after appeal, and then watch time and again as defendants are marched in front of the cameras, giving them a platform of public attention they don't deserve. It is sordid attention that rips open never-quite-healed wounds. ...

The repeal came the same day that a new poll showed that Connecticut voters overwhelmingly support capital punishment but are divided evenly on whether murderers should be executed or sentenced to life without parole.

The repeal also comes two days after a California measure to abolish executions qualified for the November ballot.

BLOG: Californians to vote on abolishing the death penalty

The District of Columbia also forbids the death penalty, although capital punishment is still allowed for certain federal crimes.

Americans may be turning against capital punishment, USA TODAY's Kevin Johnson wrote Tuesday.

STORY: Shifts detected in support for death penalty