Voter Guide: Proposition 34 - "End the Death Penalty"

[Barry]

From the Pacific Sun:

YES - After 35 controversial years of capital punishment, California's death penalty is back on trial. The Savings, Accountability and Full Enforcement for California Act would replace California's death penalty with life in prison with no chance of parole. According to the SAFE California campaign, "convicted killers will remain in high security prisons until they die—with no risk of executing an innocent person." Additionally, the 725 prisoners currently on death row in the state would have their sentences converted to life. Prisoners convicted of murder would be required under the law to work and pay restitution into a victim's compensation fund—that money would be put toward investigating unsolved rape and murder cases.
There's no denying Prop. 34 bends over backward to get people to agree to stop eye-for-an-eyeing murderers.

That's if they are in fact murderers. As we write this, news just came through that Louisiana death row inmate Damon Thibodeaux—convicted 15 years ago after confessing to the murder of his cousin—was exonerated by DNA evidence. That makes 18 death row "oopsies!" since DNA evidence first started being used in criminal cases about a decade ago.

Not that California has necessarily executed anyone wrongly convicted—heck, we've only killed 13 inmates total since the death penalty was reinstituted in 1978, and none since executions were suspended in 2006. There simply hasn't been that much opportunity for us to be wrong. Texas, by comparison, has killed more than 470 since 1982. It comes down to this: It has cost a total of $4 billion to put to death 13 inmates—that's a lot of money to pay for vengeance, which is what the death penalty is really about. It's not preventive, it doesn't make us safer, it's certainly not cost effective. But it makes us feel better knowing the person who killed, let's say an innocent little kid, gets a taste of his own medicine. It's entirely understandable for an individual to feel that way. But it's different for a society—criminal justice isn't a Charles Bronson movie. And reviling a killer is not in itself a morally justified reason to kill.

CA Democratic Party: Yes - Repeals death penalty and replaces with life without parole



CA Green Party: Yes - The Green Party has unconditionally opposed capital punishment since the party started. Non-violence is one of our key values, and opposition to the death penalty is a key part of our state and national platform, and the Global Greens Charter.

What do you think?

[Peace Voyager]

It's rather sick and costly that we didn't overturn it.

" . . .we abolished the death penalty . . ." Where did you hear that?

[Imagery]

It's rather sick and costly that we didn't overturn it.

It's too bad we didn't overturn it simply because we never actually use the death penalty. The criminals all know that there is no real chance of being put to death...simply won't happen in this state.

[podfish]

The criminals all know that there is no real chance of being put to death...simply won't happen in this state.

it's always seemed a real problem to me, too. I know they agonize over whether to go ahead with their crimes, wondering if they'd be put in the chair for it, but then, realizing they'd only be locked up for the rest of their lives, decide it's well worth their while after all.

[marylou]

Excuse me, but where do you get this information?
I have represented over 50 murderers in the last 33 years; I think one of them actually planned his crime, at least planned in the way we think about planning. He did not get the death penalty; he was white and middle class, probably not a coincidence, in my opinion.
The rest were driven by a combination of circumstances, inevitably involving their history of serious childhood trauma, substance abuse and brain damage. Most who have had testing show they have damage to the frontal lobe and temporal lobe areas of their brains, both of which are necessary for planning and deliberation.
What I do believe is that each and every one of us is capable of killing, given the right combination of causes and conditions.
What would it take for us as a society to look at those causes and conditions, such as child abuse, substance abuse, poverty's lack of access to resources, ignorance, etc?.
Marylou Hillberg
Attorney at Law

it's always seemed a real problem to me, too. I know they agonize over whether to go ahead with their crimes, wondering if they'd be put in the chair for it, but then, realizing they'd only be locked up for the rest of their lives, decide it's well worth their while after all.

[podfish]

Excuse me, but where do you get this information?

clearly I should leave satire to the professionals.

[Barry]

clearly I should leave satire to the professionals.

Well, at least I knew where you were headed.