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The Associated Press
The execution room at San Quentin in California has since been renovated, although gas remains one of two methods of execution in the state. Here, the gas chamber in 1983. California has executed 13 inmates since 1976.
Editor's note: A caption on a photo of Oregon's death chamber that appeared on an earlier version of this post incorrectly stated the year of the state's last execution. It was in 1997, according to a state Department of Corrections spokeswoman. The photo showed the execution chamber prepared for inmate Gary Haugen. But Haugen received a reprieve in November and is still on death row, the spokeswoman said.
If California voters suspend the death penalty in November, they will have removed one-quarter of the nation's current death row population.
The initiative -- which got enough signatures Monday to be placed on the ballot -- could return the state's 723 death row inmates to the general prison population, the Los Angeles Times reported. Their sentences would be reduced to life without parole and they would be expected to work; their earnings would go to crime victims.
California’s death row ballooned in size because, simply put, the state rarely executes its inmates, said Richard Dieter, executive director of Death Penalty Information Center.
California voters to consider ending capital punishment
Compare California to Texas, for example – both states sentence about 20 people to death every year, Dieter said. But while Texas executes one inmate a month, sometimes even one per week, California hasn't executed anyone since 2006.
The Times reported that California has executed 13 inmates since 1976, when the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty, and that death row inmates are far more likely to die of old age.
“California is very ambivalent about the death penalty,” Dieter said.
The last time nearly so many inmates had their sentences commuted was in 1972, when the Supreme Court abolished the death penalty. At the time, 600 inmates had their sentences reduced to the next level.
Although the Supreme Court made the death penalty legal again in 1976, the push to remove the sentence from state books began in 2007. Since then, four states – New York, New Jersey, Illinois and New Mexico – have repealed capital punishment. (Thirteen states nixed capital punishment before the 1960s; Michigan hasn’t had the death penalty since 1846, Maine since 1887.)
Connecticut is expected to follow suit in coming days.
Dieter said the more recent efforts to get rid of the death penalty have been grassroots efforts.
In California, an unlikely group of advocates have banded together to overturn the law, including El Dorado County Supervisor Ron Briggs, a self-described staunch conservative, who helped write the 1978 initiative to expand the death penalty.
“We'd thought we would bring California savings and safety in dealing with convicted murderers,” Briggs wrote in an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times. “Instead, we contributed to a nightmarish system that coddles murderers and enriches lawyers. Our initiative was intended to bring about greater justice for murder victims. Never did we envision a multibillion-dollar industry that packs murderers onto death row for decades of extremely expensive incarceration. We thought we would empty death row, not triple its population.”
Chuck Robinson / AP
The death chamber, equipped for lethal injection, at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind., shown in this April 1995 photo. Indiana, which currently holds 14 death row inmates, has executed 20 since 1976, when the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty nationwide.
The American Civil Liberties Union also supports the initiative, as does Jeanne Woodford, a former warden of San Quentin State Prison, where the male death row is located, and who oversaw four executions. There are 19 women on death row in California who are imprisoned at Chowchilla.
Dieter said the death penalty itself may be slowly dying – last year, 78 death sentences were given, compared with 315 in 1996. Executions have also dropped by half.
Some states don’t employ the death penalty. In the past year, of the 34 states with the death penalty, 13 carried out an execution. Some didn’t hand out death sentences. In exchange for information, Washington state agreed not to execute Gary Ridgway, the notorious Green River Killer who was found guilty of murdering 48 women.
“A lack of meaningful use of the death penalty is leading some states to abandon it,” Dieter said. “Whatever the goals were, they’re not being reached.”
Dieter said the advent of DNA analysis may explain the decline in executions. DNA testing famously revealed that innocent men were on death row in Illinois, which resulted in then-Gov. George Ryan declaring a moratorium on executions in 2000. The Legislature abolished the death penalty in 2011.
“There’s less confidence in the system,” Dieter said. “Juries are returning fewer death sentences. Prosecutors are seeking it less. The whole system is responding more cautiously to carrying out the death penalty.”
Dieter said the economy has also played a part – although most state legislators point to other issues, some have noted that the state could be putting the money it spends on death-penalty cases elsewhere, such as to restore money cut from the budgets of libraries and police departments.
Internationally, countries are also doing away with the death penalty, Dieter said. European Union countries have abolished capital punishment and South Africa got rid of the death penalty when it rewrote its constitution in 1997.
“We are in much more than a legal ripple,” Dieter said.
---
Top five death row inmate populations by state:
California: 723
Florida: 402
Texas: 312
Pennsylvania: 211
Alabama: 202
Nationwide: 3,199
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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Setting a limit on appeals in cases like these makes as much sense as campaign finance reform. Too bad neither will ever happen...
California needs to do what China does. One (quick) appeal and then a bullet to the back of the head with an AK-47 round. Next..
California needs to remove them by giving them what they earned for themselves, death.
723 x $50,000 per year = $36,150,000.
Think of what $36.15 MILLION PER YEAR could do for education, poverty, etc...
Californians are probably just self-righteous and brain-dead enough to want to keep throwing money away on these pieces of trash.
no wonder why the state is going broke!
Anyone that votes for Nancy Pelosi cant be too smart though
pjam09, I agree that they should start executing them instead of wasting taxpayer money on feeding and housing these dirtbags but spending the $36 million on education and poverty is also a tremendous waste. There's been a war on poverty for almost a century and there's more poverty now than ever. And the way our public education system is structured, we could spend a trillion dollars a month on it and the dropout rate would go up. Money isn't the answer to these issues. They should return the money to the taxpayers and let them figure out how to best spend it. Sorry to vent...
been there done that: Sorry, but you are comparing apples and oranges. Campaign finance reform is a farce. We, but maybe not you, live in the United States of America. That means that we have the freedom to speak our minds. As such, you can't limit the ability of the people to talk politics. That means spending what they want to get their message across.
The sad thing is that libs equate money with votes. The underlying assumption that is that people are too stupid to understand the messages sent them. I don't care how much money Obama and his socialists have to spend, their message is wrong for America and there aren't enough ways they can explain it that will make any sense. The only thing they can do is what Obama has been unsuccessful in doing and that is lying about his record and what he wants to accomplish. The only way he can fool the people is if his lib buddies are successful in preventing those with opposing points of view from getting their message out. It's that simple.
As for the costs of appeals of death sentence cases, the fact is that you can't limit the appeals as long as there is a new basis for contesting it. Personally, I think the best way to handle death penalty cases is to do away with all death penalties. That solves the costs of appeals and the chance that the system got it wrong. To further lower costs, all you have to do is take all the cases that would have the death penalty imposed and put them in a big prison all commingled together. No lock downs, no separate cells, just one by space. One guard can watch over all of them. No interaction with the guards. Food put in through food slots. Minimal expense and problem solved.
Nothing further to do. If they kill each other, then that's life (or death).
As a Californian, I think we should outsource our death row to Texas!
kumar: Sounds like a great idea! Let the real men take care of it. The girly men of Caleefornia can't be expected to do it.
As a non-native Californian, I would suggest releasing them into California's Sanctuary City, San Francisco. I am so sure they would "stay" within the city limits and not harm anyone, and the DOJ will make sure the city is not "storm trooped".
Maybe they could be participants in Mrs. Pelosi's light-rail project that provides direct access to San Francisco's Union Square and Chinatown for neighborhoods located south of Market Street near her Husband's buildings, or be assigned to the mating study of California bumble bees, or maybe interns in the study of field mice in San Francisco hills.
Advocating violence against people for not sharing the same political views is disgraceful. You should be ashamed.
Agreed. How many cases of infanticide do we read about? And how many women are executed for this heinous crime? I don't see why the death of a woman is more significant than the death of an infant.
Limits on appeals give a better chance of murdering an innocent person. Obviously, based on the article, people are moving away from the death penalty. I am so happy that people are recognizing that the system is hopelessly flawed.
I'm curious why the inmates who were commuted to life sentences in 1972 were given the option for parole (example: Charles Manson), but the inmates who may be commuted now won't be given that option. Did the law change, or is the author of this article misinformed? I would hate to think that Charles Ng, Scott Peterson, or Richard Ramirez would have the option to get out of prison some day. If they aren't going to use the death penalty, I don't understand why they ever had it in the first place...Texas makes more sense to me.
Is the power of life and death over citizens really one that you are comfortable placing in the hands of our government?
Vincent,
Comparing abortion to the death penalty is off point. First, no one is FORCING anyone to have an abortion. The state doesn't strap women to a table and make them abort. Second, there is no scientific evidence of when humanity begins, but there is a civil right to privacy. (You can make all the arguments you want, and think they're common sense, however your assertions and arguments will never be scientific evidence) Ergo, until science can solve that mystery the state lacks a compelling reason to intrude on a woman's privacy.
Vincent unless you're a woman or have adopted children you don't get an opinion on that subject and you are completely off-topic anyway. It shouldn't cost so much for death row and people who are put there should only be there with unmistakable evidence and unfortunately, with so many dirty cops and rampant incompetence in nearly every level of every job from law enforcement to forensics we can only be sure the evidence is unmistakable if they are caught in the act or confess. Too many so-called eyewitnesses have been proven to only be interested in fifteen minutes of dubious fame to even trust them.
I live in Ca and the death penalty is one of the biggest causes of our bloated prison budget. The death penalty should only be for the most heinous crimes, and I'd rather prison with no possibility of parole than having the state kill one wrong person, and lets face it, there are innocent people convicted all over the country. I hope we do get rid of it, or at least limit it.
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/california-cost-study-2011
lib50: Sorry to disappoint you, but no one believes that. Yes, fighting for the death penalty is an expense, but so is all the other garbage you are forced to pay for. I doubt that I'd be wrong if I were to make a statement that the largest cause of the bloated budget is the government's attempt to redistribute wealth and buy taxpayers' votes.
What we need to do away with is not the death penalty, it is the interminable appeals and delaying tactics used by defense attorneys to prevent the sentence being carried out. The most anyone should get would be two appeals, one state level appeal and the second to the US Supreme Court if there is a constitutional issue involved. The problem is not with the death penalty, it is with the fact that it takes decades to carry out the sentence. There is no reason it should take more than 2 or 3 years to carry out the sentence. We need to have a death penalty because otherwise there would be no punishment for certain crimes. If you have someone serving a life sentence they could just kill anyone the wanted in prison without fear of anything other than some time in solitary if you did not have the death penalty. Since prolonged stints in solitary have been ruled by the courts to be cruel and unusual punishment, without the death penalty lifers in prison could become a walking menace to everyone else. There are also some crimes that demand that the person committing them forfeit the right to get any older. I do not think that the death penalty should apply to cases where the conviction is based on circumstantial evidence, but where the verdict is based on solid physical evidence, I feel it is justified for crimes like premeditate murder, murdering a police officer, or other murders with special circumstances like torture or rape.
I just wish people could forgive one another. I mean these people may have made a poor choice, but that is no reason to kill them. I think we should go even furthur making it possible for them to be released sooner, both earned, and through the forgiving nature of the citizens of the state. Hopefully this law will pass, and more laws can be passed to reduse sentences of inmates convicted of these crimes. People need to just look toward religion to see that the best way to give, is to simply forgive.
That's very noble, but also beyond me. I don't want to forgive someone who shot 5 kids in their sleep or bashed Grandma's head in for her SS check. I want them executed.
That said, I also want a very high standard of proof.
Chris just make sure they become your neighbor..... I myself say take them out back for some target practice.....
People that think like you are the problem. If they actually used the death penalty it would help. Just like AG99 I would want a high standard of proof or not to waste the courts time with appeal after appeal for those that are caught red handed. "To turn the other cheek" on some of the crimes that these people have commited is about the most stupid thing I think someone could say. You don't understand how these people think. My father worked for The Federal Bureau of Prisons and inmates theatened me and my sisters lives because my father had not let an inmate check a certain book out of the library. They are not rational and can not be changed.
I'm sure you could forgive someone who killed one of your loved ones in cold blood. Oh, that's right. The killer made a poor choice. Everyone has the opportunity to make a choice. That means they didn't have to kill; they could have turned around and walked away. But they didn't do that. Would you really want Charles Manson as your neighbor? What could a child possibly have done to cause someone to kill them? How about an old person who needs help just to get around?
While I understand what you are saying, there are those on death row who have been convicted of multiple murders. What does religion say about those people? An eye for an eye? There was a time when a thief had his or her hand removed and I am certain it was not a clean, sanitary process. If DNA evidence could exonerate these people, that is good for those who are on death row by some mistake or another.
Some facts:
As of January 1, 2005 (that is the latest date I could find)
65.0% had a prior felony conviction at the time of the murder.
08.4% had a prior homicide conviction at the time of the murder.
07.8% had criminal charges pending at the time of the murder.
26.7% were on probation or parole at the time of the murder.
4.9% were incarcerated or had escaped from incarceration.
14% had accumulated more than one death sentence.
22% were married, 21% divorced, and 03% widowed.
54% were never married.
46% were high school/GED graduates.
39% were under the age of 25 at arrest; 1.9% are under 25 now.
0.2% were 60+ years at arrest; 4.2% are 60+ years now.
The average age was 42 years. (27 at sentencing)
Current Death Row by Race (as of January 1, 2008)
White1,517 (45%)
Black1,397 (42%)
Hispanic 359 (11%)
Asian 039 (01%)
Native Am 037 (01%)
Unknown 001 (0.3%)
Perhaps we could give them a pension and sent them to a house in Florida.
I'm totally against the DP, but I can't look at a murderer and think he/she just exercised poor judgement and let him/her off from having to spend life behind bars.
Eleven women got executed? Hmmm.
Are you !@#$% kidding me? California is run by a bunch of freakin idiots led by Jerry "I've got Mad Cow Disease" Brown. I feel no sympathy for someone who killed someone else. Do what Texas did and put in an express lane.
Chris - I do turn to religion. I am a Christian and I believe in Genesis 9:6:
If anyone takes a human life, that person’s life will also be taken by human hands. For God made human beings in his own image.
Ever hear of Joseph E. Duncan III. That guy really does deserve to die.
In fact, I think they should kill him and resuscitate him four or five times just to make sure he suffers enough for what he did.
@ Chirs150-Would you let someone who was on death row for a violent crime into your home to stay awhile? Feed them, take care of them, support them and let them play with your children?
@Crap central (did I just write that? Okay, I guess I did): It's not a matter of sympathy. I don't feel bad at the thought of those who killed in cold blood being put to death. I do feel bad about what it says about our society if we are willing to kill people knowing that some of them will be innocent, especially when there are other options available.
They need to transfer them to Texas. Texas will fry them quicker. In California most of them die of old age before being executed.
Get rid of the Death Penalty. Waste of money.
And how do you come to that conclusion? Once they're dead they don't cost us a penny.
The responders to the article are apparently uneducated and hate CA. Well, it is only the largest economy in the country. As a Californian, I couldn't be happier than to see this on the ballot. Even one person executed that is innocent is too many. All these people on the board, DIE DIE DIE... I would like to see what they would do on an actual jury. There is no justice for people to die. Lots of victim's families are coming out against the death penalty. It is on the news frequently.
Also, I don't see Manson causing more problems to those outside the walls of the prison.
I'm glad to inform you that the people's ideas about the death penalty are changing. Less are sentenced even when the option is on the table. Those who are upset about it, too bad. The majority will speak at the polls. I don't see you complaining about Connecticut doing the same thing! IL has a block on the executions. Many states don't even have the death penalty to begin with.
In short, nah, nah, nah, nah, naaahhhh.
It's a waste of money only because of the tens of millions of dollars of unlimited taxpayer dollars spent on appeals for decades while the inmate is locked up.
That's the cost problem.
But how convenient of you to leave that little fact out.
They get appeals either way. Most don't just go to Prison and give up, Pete.
Doesn't the very thing that exonerated those on death row go the other way? If DNA, and proof beyond a reasonable doubt can convict you, why not pay the price? It doesn't have to be a deterrent, but it is justice for those who commit horrible, horrible crimes. The Connecticut case comes to mind. And it will always be a deterrent to the one convicted and executed.
DNA is pretty good darn evidence but unfortunatly, every major city in the US has had it's DNA labs pressured by Police to fit a crime to someone, according to articles I have read, whish has caused doubt and mistrust of what would be good science.
Because DNA is very effective at proving innocence, not so good at proving guilt.
DNA testing involves amplifying select sequences, not the entire genome. Think of it like opening two books and comparing the first words on page 14, 76 and 488. If the first word on each page matches, you say it is a match.
Let's say you compare the two books and one says "the" and the other says "asparagus" on the top of the page 14. Well clearly, they are not the same book. There is no chance, 0%, none whatsoever that those two books are the same. That's how DNA acquittal works.
Now flip the process. Let's say that both books have the word "the" on the top of page 14. Are they the same book? Possibly. What if the book had a billion pages and you only compared 20? That's kinda how DNA matching works. I can say for sure that a mismatch is a mismatch. But a match, even of 20 out of a billion, only tells me that it has a probability of matching
With DNA, the overall principle is the same: a mismatch provides certainty, whereas a match provides only *probability*. Now, you may want to look into this further and you will find something rather surprising: whether DNA, fingerprints or other forensic identification systems are used, there are NO GOOD STUDIES showing the probability of certain "features" or that these features are unique. In fact there's significant scientific evidence that fingerprints are not unique.
That's why you can acquit with DNA with absolute certainty, but not convict with certainty
Good analysis Andreas. It provides a good, down to earth mental image of how DNA testing is actually used!
And here, I thought Texas had the highest number of death row prisoners...
Just goes to show that the liberal media goes for hype more than truth.
Tammy - Here's some facts for you...
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/state_by_state
California
Texas
Go Texas!
If their crimes do not demand the penalty, put them back on the street. The people that think so little of their loved ones that they want the perps to get an easy life with the best health care, food, TV and room should support the release of these upstanding citizens.
Death row means death row after many years of appeals have failed to free them. After being such a drain on the States budget. I say its about time to put them to death.
So you're volunteering to take the place of any wrongfully executed inmate, correct?
When it's discovered - and eventually, it will happen, if Texas hasn't done it already (and there's a very strong possibility they did last year) that an innocent man has been executed for a crime he didn't commit, someone must pay the ultimate price for two murders - one for the real criminal, and one for the innocent man who was executed. Personally, I think the prosecutor should have to pay with theirs - that should keep prosecution misconduct to a minimum.
Are you going to step up and volunteer? Or are you only a loud-mouth when you don't have to put your neck on the line?
If California and other states can GUARANTEE that they will NEVER see a parole hearing (unlike Charlie Manson who JUST HAD ONE despite being commuted to "life without parole" when the SCOTUS abolished the DP in 1972) then sure, abolish the death penalty. Make it death within the system while working in maximum security. Make it so that these people will NEVER draw a breath as a free person EVER. Make sure that they know from day 1 that there will be NO HOPE of ever leaving except in a pine box. Period. That is the only way I can see allowing someone who has murdered their wife and unborn child while having an affair (to bring one famous death row inmate to mind). Give them ONE appeal unless there is brand spanking new evidence that was never considered and was not TECHNOLOGICALLY AVAILABLE (this allows for advances in science) when they were tried. If you don't want to kill them and get rid of the waste of air, make sure that they NEVER get out.
I feel like that's fair. It seems weird that you can be sentenced to life without parole and then get parole.
Manson was sentenced to death and then commuted with life WITH parole. It was never without.
Well that makes sense then.
One appeal and ticket to Heaven WITHIN 6 months.
If you are for abortion, you should be for the death penalty. I fail to see how it is OK that victims have no rights in California. Dems please explain. I would like to understand why Tooki was a hero when no mention was made of the victim's family or their loss. Oh, and thsanks for not apologizing either (sarcasm).
neo gadfly, lets reverse your theory. If you're pro life then you should be against the DP. How's that for a spin?
Neo, I am for the DP where there is overwhelming evidence that someone did a heinous crime. There are vicious beasts on this planet who deserve to die for their crimes! I'm also Pro-Choice. As verno said though it is a little weird if your anti-abortion yet pro-dp.
Oh and I AM a Dem.
I'm not saying that I'm for or against either. Both have valid arguments but its really not THAT weird to be anti-abortion and for the death penalty. You're comparing a convicted murderer to an unborn child.
Any odd ball convoluted idea is possible on the left coast. The bluer the state the more mucked up it is. I'd like for Texas to cut their gas off.
If they tried to cut electricity or gas, then the state will claim Eminent Domain and take possession of the facilities. They are in the state of CA after all. TX is too scared to do it. We dare them! TX will lose a ton of money. LOL
As a Californian I think this is great. The benefits are two-fold: first we get a more ethical society, second because it saves a ton of money for the state.
More ethical. Snicker.
You sound like you're either jaded or are under the belief that the death penalty actually serves to lower homicide rates. Unfortunately the latter isn't the case.
As a Californian I think this is great. First because it allows for us to more closely adhere to the values our nation espouses, and second because it will save a metric ton of money for a state with an embattled budget.
Hunger Games anybody?
Haha, that's terrible.
I have no problem with the death penalty, but if you are not going to carryout it out, it is too expensive. Keeping people on death row until they die of old age is just not practical. I will vote to remove it in favor of life in solitary confinement without the possibility of parole. This would be a much better punishment, with less coddling and expense.
You realize that the huge cost is due to the decades of taxpayer funded appeals and attorney services for the convicted, right?
Locking them up without this drag would save tons of money. I'm all for that if the inmates are allowed to die when they get sick. No health care, sorry chumps!
Capital punishment is doled out inconsistently with clear evidence of racial bias in many studies. Innocent people have been sent to death row, and at least one has probably been executed (the TX father accused of arson, can't remember name).
There's no taking back death. There's no greater injustice than an innocent man dying at the hands of a free state.
It's morally, ethically, religiously, economically, politically and practically wrong. It's uncivilized and barbaric.
It's way overdue for a ban. I will be voting in Nov in CA and I will most certainly vote to abolish the Death Penalty.
Here's an idea: If someone is sentenced to death, kill them. Don't let them sit on death row for years and years making appeal after appeal. Let them make ONE appeal and set a very reasonable time limit. If that doesn't work, pencil them in for sometime next week and kill them. They earned it, after all.
Look at the word you used. KILL. Look up the word. "Butcher, Murder, Annihilate" Frightening words don't you think? Get used to the public opinion, the majority, will speak and this crime will be history.
I can think of a much more efficient way to "remove one-quarter of the nation's death row". Cut off the endless appeals and finish the job. Please note that it is the same libs who have made the death penalty an endless, expensive joke who now say that it should be banned because the process is endless and is too expensive.
The slow suicide of California, mostly brought about by liberal policies, is a sad thing indeed.
But then more innocent people are killed. The appeals process is there for a reason.
How about focusing on CT as well. They are going to ban it as well. Why aren't you complaining about the states that don't have the death penalty? Focus on the big picture Mr.
The biggest problem with the Death Penalty, even if you agree with the idea that the state should kill, is that innocent people will be killed.
The American principle of the presumption of innocence is a tradeoff: It is biased towards allowing some guilty to escape judgment in order to ensure that the innocent remain free. It goes back to the Magna Carta, and british common law, as expressed by Justice Blackstone "better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer".
Namby-pamby liberal stuff you say?
Oh yes, it goes back to the biggest liberal of them all, that brown skinned Jew and his dad. Quoting Genesis 18:23
“
Abraham drew near, and said, "Will you consume the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous within the city? Will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are in it?[3] ... What if ten are found there?" He [The Lord] said, "I will not destroy it for the ten's sake."[4]
It's better that 50 wicked go free, than 10 righteous be consumed. That's BIBLICAL justice
Woo hoo! I am sure all these that favor the death penalty are more conservative and go to church every Sunday. They are pro-death penalty and then against abortion. Two faced flip floppers. The fetus is NOT born. A life is a life people and it begins with the first breath.
So what happens now that 723 California murderers are going into the general prison population ? A few months ago California decided to reduce prison overcrowding and high correctional facility cost by releasing a few hundred low crime, burglary, forgery, drug dealers, ect. criminals back into society.......
So does this new strategy mean California will have to release more criminals like rapist, child molesters and armed robbers to make room for the 723 murders that will be requiring their cell space.?.............
It must be something in the water that makes California politicians so crazy, I heard they have the welcome mat out for illegal immigrants, and in San Fran it is legal to walk around naked as long as you sit on a towel when riding public transit.......Give it back to Mexico, it's a lost cause
Baumgardner,
Either you live in TX or you are from one of those mid-western states that are not even part of the human race. They are living in the fields with probably no electricity and struggling to pay the mortgage on that 200 year old house with the leaky roof.
I would LOVE to see these DIE DIE DIE people's faces when an execution is carried out to only find out the person was innocent. I am sure they would say, just collateral damage but deep down inside it will bother them. I would LOVE to see them go through this. How do you think the victim's family would feel to be SOOO happy about an execution only to find out he/she was innocent and the real murderer is walking the streets. I would LOVE to see them go through that too. Remember this posting WHEN it happens, if it hasn't already. I hope this haunts you.
Think of the other option....these fellas out on the street again....or the overburdened Califoriates paying for their room and board..and entertainment...
No one wants to make a tough decision any more...and the determined ones will surely take advantage of that dereliction of citizenship...
No, we need to release the addicts that only need rehab. These people are in prison for ONLY using, not distributing. How sad that we are so inhuman. How many are there in prison for this? No, none of them should be condemned to death just for using. They would achieve that on their own if not helped. Once they are cleared out then there is room for those that need life without parole to be there. This is a great way to work it. And yes, there are plenty in prison just for using.
Let's see where to start. A FETUS is not a person until it takes its first breath. A prisoner is a person.
Look at the flip side, those that want the death penalty are against abortion. It goes both ways!
Uhhhhh... noooooo Reba, I'm pro-abortion and pro-dp. It DOES go both ways and there are people out there who have committed crimes for which they DO NOT deserve to be on the planet with other humans!! I do feel that their should be compelling evidence that the person IS guilty. When there is sentence should be carried out within a year or less also!
California, the Land of Sodom and Gomorrah, produces next to nothing except criminals and corruptions, aside from farming. The only growth industry in California is the criminal justice industry which employs tens of thousands of lawyers, judges, clerks, police, warden and jail constructors. Anti-business laws and heavy taxation have driven nearly all big and medium sized business out of California. The small business mom-and-pop stores are struggling to survive amid ever heavier tax burden and regulations while forced to support the welfare-state.
Once called the Golden State, socialist California has been insolvent for nearly 15 years. To say socialism failed in California is an understatement. California has the nation's highest number of illegals, criminals, real estate agents, lawyers, gangs, inmates, welfare recipients, unemployed, and corrupt government officials. And of course, the highest number of California's finest public school on death-row.
California is a pox on the nation.
CA is the largest economy in the country. It has wonderful resources and the state laws won't let companies treat employees like cattle. It is not the murder capital of the world (Baltimore) and has the fewest illegals than another state (Arizona). Unless you live here you have no idea how the state is. So please, focus on your own back yard before condemning another.
By the way, if CA is as bad as you say (it isn't) they could file bankruptcy. Again, being the largest economy in the country, what do you think would happen to the other 49 states? Can you say domino effect?
As for criminals, that "honor" belongs to TX. They just keep that motor of a death penalty rolling and it does the state nothing.
Most people who post to the board with nasty comments have to be from TX. Just the name Texas says it all. Give it back to Mexico! (yeah, yeah I've heard this about CA too but it applies to the LONE Killer State as well.)
California was once a rich and beautiful state, millions of people grew up dreaming of life in California and more flocked here to live that dream. It is still a beautiful state with many treasures to offer.
The problem with California is the gross mismanagement and corruption within the government by both sides. Sacremento cant accomplish anything. Liberal special interest groups control the leftist politicians. Acute over regulation, high taxes and high fees on everything has been taking its toll on the populace. Many large business has relocated out of state, more middle class (who are the tax base) are moving out to states that offer lower cost of living and doing business.
Those left are wealthy and can afford the high priced luxuries of California and those who attach themselves to the vien of government handouts like leeches. The state takes in less and less yet spends more and more because Sacramento wont cut the parasites off the free stuff because thats their voter base.
I loved California having set up business there in the 1980's. Now along with many others have relocated back to Arizona. I would like to see California change back to the "Golden State" it once was and embrace propserity again and get off of the road to destruction it is now on.