(CA) Death penalty initiative qualifies for fall ballot

[kpete]

Source: Ventura County Star

SACRAMENTO — The secretary of state announced Monday that an initiative has qualified for the November ballot that would ask California voters to abolish the death penalty and replace it with a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole.

Monday was the deadline for counties to finish a random sample count of valid signatures submitted by initiative proponents. Nearly 800,000 signatures were submitted statewide. The initiative needed at least 555,236 valid signatures to qualify under the random sampling. Secretary of State Debra Bowen's office announced Monday afternoon, that it had exceeded that.

A measure can qualify by random sampling if the sampling projects the number of valid signatures is greater than 110 percent of the required number.

"For the first time, voters will have a very clear choice of replacing the death penalty with life without possibility of parole," said campaign general consultant Steve Smith.




Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/apr/23/death-penalty-initiative-poised-to-qualify-for/?partner=RSS

[orpupilofnature57]

1. Justice or money woes ?

[Auggie]

2. Humanity

[KamaAina]

3. Don't knock enlightened self-interest

it's often the only way to get things done.

Yes On (whatever the number is)!!!

[Tikki]

4. I will vote to end the death penalty in Caiifornia....no reservations at all....

Tikki

[roody]

5. Great! I signed that.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. I hope it passes. I WILL vote for this. n/t

[AsahinaKimi]

15. me too!

[kestrel91316]

7. Good. The DP is a frickin' waste of time, money, and energy in this state.

And I for one am unwilling to risk executing a single innocent person.

If it could be carried out 100% of the time with absolute certainty that the person did it (the murder) of malicious ill will, that would be fine. But that will never be the case.

[alp227]

9. so much even the original author of the death penalty ballot initiative regrets it

Seeking an End to an Execution Law They Once Championed (NY Times, 4/7/12 front page)

[Proletariatprincess]

10. the US Justice system is too dysfunctional and corrupt to be trusted with anyone's life

no matter how guilty or malicious he/she may appear. I agree that it will never be the case that this system will deliver fairness and justice.

[happyslug]

8. Lets see what the voters want, I fear they will reject this call to end the death penalty.

It had to be 15-20 years ago, long before the net was around and I read an article on the ending of the Death penalty in Europe. It was noted it had NEVER gone up for a vote in any country, do to fears that if put up to a vote, a majority of voters would vote to retain the death penalty. i.e. the death penalty was ended in Europe do to the fact some coalition member of some government demanded it as part of they agreement to entered into the coalition NOT because the majority of voters wanted to end the death penalty.

I do NOT know how true that is today, but I have my fears even as to Europe.

I fear the same thing is going on in the US, most voters will vote to retain it, for those real evil people they know exists (The existence of such evil men may just be in their mind, but that is how a voter supports the death penalty thinks). Thus the voters may vote this down, I hope that is not the case, but I fear it will occur.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

11. I signed it, I will vote for it but I acknowledge it is a waste of time

Even if it does pass a fresh ballot initiative restoring it will be on the next ballot.

[lonestarnot]

12. Seems the worse punishment of the two anyway and less expensive and in the event of wrongful

conviction, maybe (only maybe) a mistake can be rectified. Death penalty is racist! Show us how smart you Californians are and get rid of the death penalty!

[pinto]

13. Kick

[ProgressiveProfessor]

14. Any polling out on this?