A coalition of District Attorneys, law enforcement officials, and victims’ rights advocates are proposing a statewide ballot initiative to reform the death penalty in California.
“Last year Californians overwhelmingly reaffirmed their support for the death penalty. Unfortunately, it has become ineffective because of waste, delays, and inefficiencies. Fixing it will save California taxpayers millions of dollars every year, assure due process protections for those sentenced to death and promote justice for murder victims and their families,” said initiative proponent Kermit Alexander, whose mother, sister, and two nephews were murdered in 1984 by a gang member in Los Angeles. The killer has been on death row since 1986.
This initiative will ensure justice for both victims and defendants by:
Reforming the Appeals Process
- Death penalty appeals will first be heard by the California Court of Appeals and then heard by the California Supreme Court if necessary.
- A defendant’s claim of actual innocence should not be limited, but frivolous and unnecessary claims should be restricted.
Reforming Death Row Housing and Victim Restitution
- According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, eliminating single cell housing of death row inmates will save tens of millions of dollars every year.
- Death row inmates should be required to work in prison to pay restitution to their victims’ families consistent with the Victims’ Bill of Rights (Marsy’s law). Refusal to work and pay restitution should result in loss of special privileges.
Reforming the Appointment of Appellate Counsel and Agency Oversight
- Reforming the existing inefficient appeals process for death penalty cases will ensure fairness for both defendants and victims. Capital defendants wait 5 years or more for appointments of their appellate lawyer. By providing prompt appointment of attorneys, the defendant’s claims will be heard sooner.
- The state agency that is supposed to expedite secondary review of death penalty cases is operating without any effective oversight, causing long delays and wasting taxpayer dollars. California Supreme Court oversight of this state agency will ensure accountability.
Thank goodness (justice) that some folks are trying to create a responsible death penalty protocol in California.
How irresponsible is California?
Since 1977, California has executed 1.4% of their death row murderers, after an average of 18 years on death row.The last 5 murderers executed have averaged 22 years on death row. It will only get longer, based upon the horrendous irresponsibility of Ca judges, a continuing disaster.
Such judges can be removed, but . . . ,
What does a responsible death penalty protocol look like?
Since 1977, Virginia has executed 70% (110) of their death row murderers after 7.1 years on death row, on average, with a 9% overturning rate.
What if California had been responsible?
Lets say that California needed 50% longer to execute than does Virginia, or 10.5 years, and had executed only 40% and had a 30% overturning rate.
This is what California would have today, with responsible management.
40% executed would be 388 executed murderers, leaving 582, from which California has had 81 die (not executed) while on death row, a 30% overturning rate would be 291 cases, with 15 cases commuted, which would leave 195 remaining on death row, . . . easily manageable, as opposed to the 700 California currently has on death row.
Texas currently has about 300 on death row.
Texas has sent about 1100 to death row, California 1000. Texas takes, on average, 11 years to execute and has executed 50% of their death row murderers and has a 15% overturing rate on death row.
The problem has not been available qualified attorneys, it has been that Ca has no good case managers, aka judges.
The complaint about limited qualified defense attorneys only makes sense if you avoid the grossly irresponsible system that California judges have perpetrated, which has created this huge bottleneck.
Judges are the case managers in California, just as they are in Virginia and Texas .
Thank goodness that someone is attempting to create a responsible system, not just wining about how it can’t be done, you know, like in Virginia and Texas.
Governor Scott of Florida is looking to streamline the death penalty for more timely justice. Perhaps more Governors should ban together to get this thing rolling.
I agree with you Mark it’s insane. One of my good friends Mary Fleming was murdered by a serial killer named Anthony LaRette in St. Charles MO. we were 19 years old. He stabbed her 19 times then slit her throat. He admitted he did it and they found him guilty of 20 other rapes and murders. This man got the death penalty and then sat their smirking everyone until 1995 it put the family and everyone that loved her through hell for years and most likely cost the tax payers of Missouri close to a Million dollars. It infuriates me that they are allowed so many appeals especially when they admit the crime and DNA confirms it. When there’s no question as to their guilty why all the appeals etc. I don’t understand it.