Posted on 11/07/2012 12:50:32 PM PST by Arthurio
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Voters in California rejected a referendum to abolish the death penalty, despite widespread complaints about the state's expensive and dysfunctional capital punishment system.
The majority of Californians, 53%, voted "no" on Proposition 34, compared to 47% who voted in favor of the referendum, which would have gotten rid of the death penalty if approved. This tally is based on 95% of the votes having been counted.
With the referendum rejected, California will maintain its death row status quo. That has cost the state $4 billion since 1978, even though only 13 convicts have been executed in that time.
Supporters of Prop 34 wanted to switch the 700-plus residents of death row to life without parole. They estimate that this could have saved the cash-strapped state $130 million per year.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
Someday? Nah
California does not really have a death penalty. Death row is just a separate part of the prison where some of the lifers go to die of old age. While they wait to die from natural causes the tapayers spend millions of dollars on thier legal expenses. Next time I might vote to end the charade and save the money.
didn’t Arnold make a movie based on that theme? Guess he knew the fate of kali before he was elected governor!
Let’s see, super-majorities in both state houses (meaning Prop 13 could be overturned resulting in skyrocketing property taxes), and Prop 30 passing for yet another hike in state income and sale taxes. Yeah, CA is definitely on death row.
Most of the delay at carrying out executions happens at the federal level, and only when two conservatives are chairmen of the senate and house judiciary committees is there any chance for reform. Here is some of what they might do.
1) Distinguish between types of death penalty appeals. There are only a few instances when a federal judge should be able to set aside a states death penalty. Otherwise, he should be limited to sending the appeal back to the trial court for reconsideration.
2) Death penalty appeals both need to be consolidated and moved to the head of the federal docket. Appeal delays should be strictly limited, and no appeal should last more than 1 year.
3) States would be assumed to be “expert” in carrying out the death penalty, so federal judges would be limited as to how they could interfere with the means of execution. While judges could consider extraneous factors to a given case during the trial phase, after sentencing, such factors (like racial disparity in executions) are no longer relevant to a particular case.
In the California election, the Dems just established a super-majority. Elections such as this mean nothing in California any more.
At least we got one thing right.,
The liberals in California will appoint soft on crime judges who will never sentence any criminal to death.
D@mn - I gotta get out of here...
Mend it, don’t end it!
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