San Francisco – Just three death sentences were handed down in California from January to June 2011 compared with the same period last year when there were 13, according to a new report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC). This is the lowest number of new death sentences in a six month period since the death penalty was reinstated in 1978.
"California's death penalty is dead. The signs are clear: Prosecutors are moving towards life imprisonment with no chance of parole over the legal fiction that is California's death penalty," said Natasha Minsker, ACLU of California's Death Penalty Policy Director. "New polls and election results also show that voters favor replacing the death penalty with permanent imprisonment, with a requirement for work and restitution paid to the Victims' Compensation Fund."
A 2011 poll by David Binder Research found 63% of likely California voters support converting death sentences to permanent imprisonment. The proposal received support across political party lines and all regions of the state, including a majority of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans.
The ACLU released the report as the California legislature considers SB 490, a bill that would ask voters whether to replace the state's broken death penalty with life in prison with no chance of parole. The Assembly Public Safety Committee will hear testimony and vote on SB 490 on the morning of Thursday, July 7.
"In the last five years California has spent $700 million on the death penalty and in the next five years we will spend $1 billion more – unless we decide to save our limited state resources and use them for schools, law enforcement and to investigate violent crimes," added Minsker.
The report also highlights:
- Executions on Hold: California executions have been on hold for more than five years due to legal challenges and problems related to the acquisition of the drug required for lethal injection. It remains unknown how California will resolve the legal and practical problems in carrying out executions, or if it can.
- Public Safety Impact of the Death Penalty: 46% of homicides in California are never solved. Money spent on the death penalty could be used on effective programs that improve public safety across the state. Los Angeles County has the highest homicide rate in the whole state, and has spent approximately $36.3 million dollars in five years to prosecute and send 33 inmates to death row, while over 2,000 murders remain unsolved.
- Why Efforts to "Speed Up" The System Fail: In California, the average time between conviction and execution is now more than 25 years. Experts agree that that an additional outlay of $95 million a year would be needed to increase the pace of review without also increasing the chance of wrongful execution. Given the state's dire fiscal situation, it is unlikely that more money will be made available to hire the hundreds of attorneys that would be needed for expedited review of death penalty cases.
"For years, experts like retired Chief Justice Ron George have declared that California's death penalty is on the verge of collapse. In fact, the system has already collapsed. It's time to end this expensive charade. Life in prison with no possibility of parole is a better solution that keeps us safe and saves us money," said Minsker.
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