Cal. Voters Will Choose Whether to Mend or End Death Penalty
By Kent Scheidegger
In 2012, the friends of murderers came within four percent of repealing California's death penalty by popular vote, something that has not been done in any state in the United States. Opposition to the death penalty (like other soft-on-crime efforts) is mostly an elitist cause, pushed by affluent people who can go home to their leafy neighborhoods while the bloody consequences of their feel-good "humanitarianism" fall on people of more modest means. Thus, repeal bills have gotten through legislatures even when the people of the state are opposed to repeal. We saw this in Connecticut, where repeal went through even as polls showed the people opposed by 2-1.
In California, the death penalty was enacted by initiative and can't be repealed by the Legislature. However, the Legislature has failed to do the maintenance necessary to make the death penalty effective, and until now the forces of justice have not been able to raise the very large amounts of money needed to get a fix-it initiative on the ballot.
I can easily see why a lot of people who support the death penalty in principle voted for repeal in 2012. The present system is not working. If I genuinely believed it was not fixable, I might vote for repeal myself.
The well-funded friends of murderers have enough signatures to put repeal on the ballot again this year. But this year is different. Through a herculean fund-raising effort led by the district attorneys, there will also be a competing initiative to actually fix the system, making the reforms that our derelict Legislature has killed instead of passing so many times.
"Mend it, don't end it" was our slogan in opposition to repeal last time. A good many people asked, "Yeah, but when are you going to mend it." Finally, we have a good answer. This time, the people of California have a direct choice between the two. The status quo is toast.
I have no doubt the people will choose to mend it and not end it if they are fully and honestly informed of the choice before them. The main concern now is the overwhelming funding advantage the opponents have. They can and will spend big bucks to put misleading advertisements on the air, and our side will have only a shoestring grass-roots campaign. This campaign may be a test of the extent to which money can buy an election.
Here is the campaign's press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Rachel Smith
May 19, 2016 949-241-9785
California Death Penalty Reform Proponents Submit Signatures to Qualify for November Ballot
SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 19, 2016 - The Californians for Death Penalty Reform and Savings campaign submitted 593,000 total signatures across the state's 58 counties today to qualify the initiative for the November ballot.
California currently requires 365,880 valid signatures to qualify a statutory ballot measure.
Press conferences are being held today in ten major cities throughout the state with remarks from local District Attorneys, law enforcement officials, crime victim advocates, and community leaders.
The Death Penalty Reform and Savings Act seeks to reform California's death penalty laws so they can be fairly and appropriately applied in the most heinous of crimes. The initiative will help keep Californians safe and ensure justice for murdered victims and their families. At the same time, the measure will save taxpayers millions of dollars per year while maintaining due process protections for those sentenced to death.
The initiative's proponent, former NFL player Kermit Alexander, will speak this afternoon in Riverside about his thirty-year effort to seek justice for his mother, sister and two nephews who were murdered in 1984.
"Justice is not easy, and it is certainly not gentle. But justice denied is not justice," says Alexander.
"We the people of California have consecutively and systematically voted to reinstate and preserve the use of capital punishment despite the efforts of those who refuse to carry out an execution."
Death row inmates have murdered over 1000 victims, including 226 children and 43 police officers; 294 victims were raped and/or tortured before being killed. California's death row includes serial killers, cop killers, child killers, mass murderers, and hate crime killers.
The California Death Penalty Reform and Savings Act of 2016 was introduced on October 20, 2015 and will ensure justice for both victims and defendants by:
• Expanding the pool of available defense attorneys so death penalty appeals can proceed quickly.
• Requiring that a defendant who is sentenced to death is appointed a lawyer at the time of sentence, rather than waiting for years just to get a lawyer.
• Allowing the Department of Corrections to house condemned inmates in less costly housing with fewer special privileges while still maintaining strong security.
• Requiring that condemned inmates work and pay restitution to victims.
• Allowing the Department of Corrections to enact an execution protocol without having to reply to every question or suggestion by any citizen who sends them a letter.
• Giving the California Supreme Court oversight over the state agency that manages death penalty appeals.
Statewide co-chair of the Californians for Death Penalty Reform and Savings, Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, thanked all the volunteers and donors who made the signature drive possible, saying:
"We gathered nearly 600,000 signatures in a very challenging petition environment, and we could not have done it without thousands of hours from dedicated volunteers around the state, as well as generous financial backing from so many supporters. From the support we received from law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and probation officers through their associations; to the generous gift from victims' advocate and Broadcom co-founder, Dr. Henry T. Nicholas, our largest individual donor; to the $5 gift from a retired supporter who could afford not even that; this effort was the result of so many supporters who dug deep. We thank them all."
Each County will transmit a raw count of signatures to the California Secretary of State and then proceed to verify either a full count of signatures in their county or a random sample.
For stories about victims and current death row inmates, please visit:
http://www.deathpenaltyreform.com/dealthpenalty-12pg/
www.deathpenaltyreform.com
For more information on the press conferences and speakers, contact Rachel Smith.
http://www.crimeandconsequences.com/...ther.html#more
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