TRENTON New Jersey’s death penalty, which has not resulted in any executions, would be put on hold for 18 months while a commission studies whether the law actually deters crime and is ``consistent with evolving standards of decency,’’ under a bill passed 30-6 by the state senate last Thursday. It awaits possible action in an assembly committee. The legislative session ends Jan. 9, after which it would have to be reintroduced in both houses if not enacted. Among those opposed was Sen. Gerald Cardinale, R-Bergen, who said, ``It could send a message to those who would harm their fellow residents that we are soft on crime’’ and lead to the revocation of the death penalty. A co-sponsor, Sen. Robert J. Martin, R-Morris and Passaic, noted that 50 of the 60 death sentences imposed since the penalty was reinstated in 1982 have been overturned. ``Something is fundamentally flawed with that statute,’’ Martin said. The moratorium bill passed both houses by overwhelming margins two years ago, but was vetoed by then-Gov. James E. McGreevey without enough time for an override, said the sponsor, Sen. Shirley K. Turner, D-Mercer. Ten men are death row at New Jersey State Prison in Trenton. New Jersey has not executed anyone since 1963.