Skip to main content

Instead Of Voting To Abolish The Death Penalty, Californians Decide To Speed It Up

California's death chamber
California's death chamber
Voters in California elected to keep the state’s death penalty, meaning the nation’s largest death row is here to stay. More than that, though, the state voted to speed up its death penalty.

There were two death penalty propositions on the ballot in the state. One would have repealed the death penalty and replaced it with life without the possibility of parole. That proposal lost by nearly eight points.

This wasn’t California’s first attempt at abolishing the death penalty. Just four years ago, voters rejected a repeal by a very narrow margin. This year, the repeal effort lost by a much larger margin.

The United States had roughly 2,900 inmates on death row, and a quarter of them are in California. Although California prosecutors send inmates to death row at a high pace, the state hasn’t carried out any executions in a decade.

The state has executed only 13 people since it brought back the death penalty in the ’70s.

But California will now attempt to speed that process up. The proposal that passed will reduce the appeals available to death row inmates and will remove some oversight from the process of selecting execution procedures.

The effort to speed up the process ended up winning by less than two percentage points.

“Human rights, by their definition, are inalienable and cannot be voted away,” Sister Helen Prejean, an advocate against the death penalty, said in a statement. “They cannot and should not be subject to the whim of the majority. And so it is perhaps fitting and inevitable that we turn to the courts, in particular the United States Supreme Court, to do the right thing.”

Just this past week, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation published a new lethal injection protocol allowing for one of four drugs to be used. Two of the drugs have never before been used in an execution, and one drug has no legal source in the United States. The fourth is increasingly hard for death penalty states to obtain.

Source: Buzzfeed, Chris McDaniel, November 9, 2016. Chris McDaniel is a death penalty reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.

Challenge already filed to measure that would speed executions


Although California voters soundly rejected abolishing the death penalty and appear to have approved a measure to speed up executions, don’t expect anything to change soon — if at all.

Proposition 66, which was ahead Wednesday by a razor-thin margin with dozens of counties still counting ballots, would face major hurdles before it could deliver on its promise of expediting a death penalty appeals process that often drags on for decades. About 750 people are on death row in California, and no one has been executed since 2006.

Among the obstacles: Proponents of Proposition 62, which would have abolished capital punishment in California but was defeated more soundly than a similar measure in 2012, said they plan to file suit over the measure to speed appeals. Even with more votes left to be counted, they conceded at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday that they had lost their effort to defeat Proposition 66. And Orrick, a leading California-based law firm, filed a legal challenge late Wednesday seeking an immediate stay from the California Supreme Court.

“Proposition 66 will absolutely end up in protracted and costly litigation,’’ said Ana Zamora, manager of the No on 66 campaign. “It’s just more empty promises to California voters and victims’ families.’’

But Yes on 66 supporters vowed to carry out the measure’s highly technical provisions, such as putting trial courts in charge of initial petitions challenging death penalty convictions, establishing a time frame for death penalty reviews, and requiring appointed attorneys to accept death penalty appeals.

“If it is obstructed, we’re going to do everything we can to get it implemented,’’ said Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, co-chair of the Yes on 66 campaign.

California's death chamber
The measure does not include any funding for the extra attorneys and trial judges that would be required to speed up appeals. Lawmakers would have to allocate more money to already underfunded trial courts.

The state Legislature is dominated by the Democratic Party, which opposed Proposition 66.

“The Legislature and the governor should respect the will of the voters,’’ said Schubert, when asked about the funding.

California voters approached the two dueling death penalty initiatives in a different spirit than the other criminal justice measure on the ballot, Proposition 57.

Aimed at reducing prison overcrowding, that measure passed with overwhelming support. Backed by Gov. Jerry Brown, it will expand parole opportunities for certain inmates and require that judges decide whether juveniles should be tried in adult court and sent to prison.

Proposition 57 is the third criminal justice reform approved by Californians since 2012. The other two are Proposition 36, which eased the state’s tough three-strikes law for repeat offenders, and Proposition 47, which reduced some crimes to misdemeanors, shortening sentences and sending offenders to jail rather than prison.

“We’re seeing a real split,’’ said Garrick Percival, an associate professor of political science at San Jose State. “Californians are saying our prison system is broken and costs too much, but for the worst of the worst, they still advocate the ultimate punishment.’’

Proposition 66’s victory surprised some opponents, partly because polls had shown both death penalty measures trailing.

However, the ACLU, NAACP and other groups have said they are prepared to duke it out in court. Experts said they may be able to challenge the measure on the grounds that conscripting lawyers in death penalty cases and threatening to take their livelihood away (by not appointing them in other matters) if they refuse would be illegal.

Another line of attack could be on the grounds that requiring defendants and their lawyers to challenge their convictions in trial court would require an amendment of the state constitution. To put such an amendment on the ballot, supporters would have had to collect more signatures than they did for Proposition 66.

Source: The Mercury News, Tracey Kaplan, November 9, 2016

⚑ | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; send a submission; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.


Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

Most viewed (Last 7 days)

U.S. | Four executions are scheduled in four states over four days this week

Over the next four days, four inmates in four different states are scheduled to be put to death – a cluster that, while not abnormal, comes amid a national uptick in executions while President Donald Trump calls for the death penalty’s expansion. A cluster of executions is “not that unusual,” according to Robert Dunham, director of the Death Penalty Policy Project. “But it’s become increasingly rare as use of the death penalty has diminished.” Indeed, the number of executions each year remains far lower than its peak in 1999, when nearly 100 people were put to death nationwide. That figure steadily decreased until the Covid-19 pandemic, when it reached historic lows, Dunham said.

Oklahoma judge stays execution of man set to die Thursday

Hanson was transferred to Oklahoma custody in March by federal officials following through on President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive order to more actively support the death penalty. OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma judge granted a temporary stay of execution Monday to a man whose transfer to death row was expedited by the Trump administration and who was scheduled to receive a lethal injection this week. John Fitzgerald Hanson, 61, was set to die Thursday for killing a Tulsa woman in 1999. Hanson’s lawyers have argued that he did not receive a fair clemency hearing last month before the state’s five-member Pardon and Parole Board. They claim board member Sean Malloy was biased because he worked for the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office when Hanson was being prosecuted.

Japan | Steady-handed prison guard remembers faces of condemned he executed

His hands never trembled, not even as he slipped the noose around the necks of several condemned men. But now, years later, their faces return to him -- uninvited, every day. Currently in his 70s, a Japanese man who worked as a prison guard for many years at a detention center in eastern Japan, remains anonymous for privacy reasons. One morning in the 1990s, he was informed he was to be that day's "noose handler," assisted by four other prison officers and several staff in the task of hanging death row inmates. "I knew this was a road I'd have to go down eventually if I worked at a detention center," the man said in an interview with Kyodo News. "You don't have any power to veto the decision."

Utah | Judge says Ralph Menzies does have dementia, but is competent enough to be executed

A Utah judge says death row inmate Ralph Menzies is mentally competent enough to be executed by firing squad.  In a ruling issued Friday evening, 3rd District Judge Matthew Bates wrote that Menzies does have dementia, but it’s not enough to prevent him from understanding why he’s being punished.  Menzies’ attorneys say they plan to appeal the decision to the Utah Supreme Court.  The ruling caps of a monthslong competency hearing that began in November, where attorneys for Menzies argued the 67-year-old’s brain is so damaged he can’t form a “rational understanding” of why the state is pursuing the death penalty. Attorneys for the state, meanwhile, argued that Menzies does show signs of cognitive decline but he’s still competent. 

Texas | Man ordered final death row meal so controversial that no one gets one anymore

As well as listing off five people we wouldn't mind getting stuck in a lift with if it ever came to it, we've all debated what we would have for our last ever meal on Earth. These imaginary scenarios help us kill a bit of time during long journeys, or can reignite the conversation if it gets a bit stale. But for death row inmates, fantasising about their final feast isn't just a fun and fictitious pastime - it's something they actually have to decide on before they face their fate. Unless they are locked up in Texas, that is, as the US state no longer offers prisoners this privilege thanks to the actions of one convict 14 years ago.

Alabama executes Gregory Hunt

Alabama executes a man by nitrogen gas for the beating death of a woman in 1988  An Alabama man convicted of killing a woman in 1988 was put to death Tuesday evening in the nation’s 6th execution by nitrogen gas.  Strapped to a gurney with a blue-rimmed mask covering his entire face, Hunt gave no final words but appeared to give a thumbs-up sign and a peace sign with his fingers. The gas began flowing sometime after 5:55 p.m., but it was not clear exactly when. At 5:57 p.m. Hunt briefly shook, gasped and raised his head off the gurney. He let out a moan at about 5:59 p.m. and raised his feet. 

Oklahoma executes John Hanson

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma executed a man Thursday whose transfer to state custody was expedited by the Trump administration. John Fitzgerald Hanson, 61, received a three-drug lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and was pronounced dead at 10:11 a.m., prison officials said. Hanson was sentenced to die after he was convicted of carjacking, kidnapping and killing a Tulsa woman in 1999. “Peace to everyone,” Hanson said while strapped to a gurney inside the prison’s death chamber.

Florida executes Anthony Wainwright

Florida executes man convicted in rape, murder of woman 3 decades ago  The U.S. Supreme Court rejected last-ditch appeals to spare convicted killer Anthony Wainwright and his execution was carried out as planned Tuesday evening at Florida State Prison.  Wainwright, 54, was executed at 6 p.m. by lethal injection for the 1994 murder of Carmen Gayheart, who was kidnapped from a Lake City supermarket parking lot, raped and killed.  This execution marked the 6th inmate put to death by lethal injection in Florida this year. 

Indonesia | 3 British nationals face death penalty for allegedly smuggling 1 kg of cocaine into tourist island of Bali

Three British nationals accused of smuggling over two pounds of cocaine into Indonesia were charged Tuesday in a court on the tourist island of Bali. They face the death penalty under the country's strict drug laws. Convicted drug smugglers in Indonesia are sometimes executed by firing squad. Jonathan Christopher Collyer, 28, and Lisa Ellen Stocker, 29, were arrested on Feb. 1 after customs officers halted them at the X-ray machine after finding suspicious items in their luggage disguised as food packages, said prosecutor I Made Dipa Umbara.

Oscar Franklin Smith, Tennessee death row inmate, declines to select execution method

Oscar Franklin Smith, a Tennessee death row inmate scheduled for execution on May 22, will die by lethal injection if the process moves forward. Smith, who was asked to choose between lethal injection and the electric chair, declined to pick, his attorney Kelley Henry, a supervisory assistant federal public defender, said. When an inmate does not choose, the method defaults to lethal injection. It's not the first time Smith has been given this grim decision and declined. That decision to not choose ultimately saved his life for three more years.