Gavin Newsom expected to take executive action to abolish CA death penalty

[jls4561]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by DonViejo (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: NBC 7 San Diego

Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to announce he is taking executive action to try to eliminate the use of the death penalty in California.
Two sources familiar with the governor's plans tell NBC4's I-Team that Newsom may use the governor office's authority to reduce sentences of all condemned inmates on death row.
Newsom has been calling elected officials around the state to share some information, but details are expected to be revealed at a news conference at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
NBC4 has reached out to a spokesman for the governor, but did not hear back.
Newsom has been openly advocating for a moratorium on the death penalty and told the LA Times this week that he has asked his legal advisers to research his options as governor.

Read more: https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/california/Death-penalty-california-governor-newsom-end-change-507066901.html

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Gavin, as someone who's been aware of you since you were a supervisor, I know you like big bold gestures. I support your stance on the death penalty, as I did your stance on same sex marriage (sent flowers to City Hall along with many others).

However, I always ask myself "Are you doing this because it's for the greater good or because you think it's good for you?"

I can't answer that question. Maybe some other DUers can help me out.

[George II]

1. I thought the death penalty was abolished years ago in California. When did it get reinstated?

[jaysunb]

2. 1978 n/t

[Tiggeroshii]

3. We execute somebody once every several years.

[tenderfoot]

5. California executed since 1978

California Executions Since 1978
Condemned Inmate Date Received Date Executed Time on Death Row Age

Robert Alton Harris 3/14/1979 4/21/1992 13 years, 1 month 39
David Edwin Mason 1/27/1984 8/24/1993 9 years, 7 months 36
William George Bonin 3/22/1982 2/23/1996 13 years, 11 months 49
Keith Daniel Williams 4/13/1979 5/3/1996 17 years, 1 month 48
Thomas M. Thompson 8/23/1984 7/14/1998 13 years, 10 months 43
Jaturun Siripongs 5/2/1983 2/9/1999 15 years, 9 months 47
Manuel Babbitt 7/15/1982 5/4/1999 16 years, 9 months 50
Darrell Keith Rich 1/23/1981 3/15/2000 19 years, 1 month 44
Robert Lee Massie 5/28/1979 3/27/2001 21 years, 10 months 60
Stephen Wayne Anderson 7/30/1981 1/29/2002 20 years, 6 months 48
Donald Beardslee 3/14/1984 1/19/2005 20 years, 10 months 61
Stanley Williams 4/20/1981 12/13/2005 24 years, 7 months 51
Clarence Ray Allen 12/02/1982 01/17/2006 23 years, 1 month 76

California Inmates Executed in Other States Since 1978
Condemned Inmate Date Received Date & State Executed Time on Death Row Age
Kelvin Malone 6/22/1981 1/13/1999 (Missouri) 15 years, 6 months 37
Alfredo Rolando Prieto 6/30/1992 10/1/2015 (Virginia) 23 years, 3 month 49

https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Capital_Punishment/Inmates_Executed.html

[jls4561]

6. CA death penalty was ruled unconstitutional in 2006

I think it was due to cruel and unusual punishment because of the "drug cocktail" that has not always been effective. Our Supreme Court declared it unlawful in 1972, the it was reinstated by the legislature in 1977. In 1994, the gas chamber was ruled to be cruel and unusual. In 2006, the "three drug protocol" was also ruled to be cruel and unusual. No one has been executed since that time.

I am not questioning the moratorium, I am questioning why Newsom is making this an "executive action".

P.S. I go by San Quentin every time I take the ferry into the city. If there are inmates in the yard, they wave. We wave back.
It's not that I don't believe some people should be locked up for the good of society (I'm talking to you, Scott Peterson. Laci's body washed up near our dog park!) but I can't justify taking a life.

Yes, I eat meat. Don't flame me for that.

Also, I hope I got all the dates correct.

[RockRaven]

14. Some Californians tried to get rid of the death penalty by ballot measure recently...

and that proposition lost narrowly, while a competing proposition -- which was placed on the ballot specifically to submarine the aforementioned one by enacting instead a speeding up of executions to reduce expense -- won narrowly.

The voters in that election were wrong, in terms of morality and in terms of justice. Even if Newsom is doing this for entirely self-aggrandizing reasons (which, fwiw, I doubt), I must say that in this case I don't care because the result is the ethically correct position. Lordy, if every politician did the morally right thing for selfish and egotistical reasons, the world would be a better place.

[Raine]

19. Won't they have to take this back to the voters

since it was an initiative voted on by the people? In order to stop changing the clock back and forth it had to be voted on in the last election because years ago it had been an initiative. I can see a court battle ahead or another ballot initiative to be voted on.

[BootinUp]

4. It's the right thing to do. Eom

[safeinOhio]

7. Well over 150 years of

no death penalty in Michigan. Has worked well.

[roamer65]

8. Yes, we got rid of it in 1847.

No chance of executing innocent people since then.

[jls4561]

9. Michigan constitutionally abolished the death penalty

I would support that in California.

Note: Edited for spelling.

[roamer65]

10. We were the first English-speaking territory in the world to abolish it.

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/michigan-0

[jls4561]

11. Good for Michigan!

[roamer65]

12. ...and good for Governor Newsom.

I like him a lot.

[jls4561]

13. Did you vote for him?

I did. because the alternative would have been worse.

[roamer65]

16. Nope. I'm from MI.

If I were a Californian, I would have voted for him in a heartbeat.

[Merlot]

15. I don't care why Newsom is doing this, it's the results that matter.

This is the best news I've seen all day.

[lastlib]

17. Capital punishment is an abomination. The state should not have the power to take life.

[mwooldri]

18. Doesn't matter, just don't do it! (Death penalty that is).

Death penalty is barbaric. EU won't extradite people to the US if there is a chance that they might receive the death penalty.

On a tangent... I find it odd that those who are anti-choice in the abortion debate tend to be pro death penalty. Doesn't make sense to me.

But death penalty is bad. Period. Can't resurrect innocent people once they're executed.

[DonViejo]

20. Locking...

Forum Hosts agree this is not LBN, but rather, a General Discussions type news article; the LBN will occur when the Governor actually takes the executive action.

Please post this in the General Discussions Forum