Lawmakers to Consider Plan to Halt Executions (California)

LA Times ^ | 9:20 PM PST, December 13, 2005 | By Jordan Rau, Times Staff Writer

[Simmy2.5]

SACRAMENTO -- State legislators in early January will consider what is likely to be a contentious proposal to postpone executions for as long as three years.

On Jan. 10, an Assembly committee plans to consider legislation that would place a moratorium on executions until a special commission finishes examining whether California's criminal justice system allows innocent people to be convicted.

The bill, the first of its kind in Sacramento in more than a decade, faces substantial political and legal hurdles. Its hearing — scheduled long before convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams' execution Tuesday — comes as the state is poised to perform a record number of executions in the coming year.

The California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, created by the state Senate last year, is studying the extent to which people have been wrongly convicted of crimes. The commission, composed of people on all sides of the issue, was charged with suggesting improvements to lawmakers by the end of 2007.

[Simmy2.5]

-Snip- "This is the most liberal Legislature in the country," said Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks). "I would not be the least bit surprised if it adopted a moratorium or even attempted to rescind the death penalty entirely. But if they do, they'll have a fight on their hands." -Snip-

Dems at it again! And just after the heels of the Tookie execution.

[zarf]

The Dems in Cali make the RINO's in Congress seem to the right of Hitler.

[msnimje]

One execution for every fifty thousand murderers or so is Too much for the libs?

[fizziwig]

While it is true that some people are wrongly convicted, the chances of a person convicted of murder, who has gotten all the way to the doors of the death chamber, being wrongly convicted is almost nil. There are just too many reviews and appeals.

Tookie was guilty, he paid for it. Get over it dems.

[Simmy2.5]

But, but but...he redeemed himself! He wrote children's books! It was all for the children!!! [/sarcasm]

[fizziwig]

"The Dems in Cali make the RINO's in Congress seem to the right of Hitler."

Hitler was a lefty socialist. Being right of Hitler is pretty easy. All you have to do is be a typical American.

[GeronL]

Democrat Assembly leader Teary Crybaby took the podium to denounce the death penalty: "Last night we, this state, put to death one of the finest and most efficient population control experts this world has ever known. As a co-founder of one of the most murderous gangs on the planet and as a remorsless killer himself, he has lightened the load on the eco-system. The meeting we Democrats had earlier was a somber affair with hardly a dry eye in the room but we came to a united front and a new slogan!".

The legislature erupted as the solidly unified Democrats chanted "No death penalty except abortion"
"No death penalty except abortion"
"No death penalty except abortion"
"No death penalty except abortion"
"No death penalty except abortion"

[GeronL]

bump

[calcowgirl]

BILL NUMBER: AB 1121 AMENDED
BILL TEXT

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 20, 2005

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Koretz
Members Koretz and Lieber
   ( Principal coauthor: Senator Cedillo  )
   ( Coauthors:  Assembly Members Dymally and Leno )

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2005

   An act to amend Section 1216 of 3700 of,
and to add Section 3700.1 to, the Penal Code, relating to
sentencing.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

   AB 1121, as amended, Koretz.  Sentencing.
   Existing law establishes the sentence of death as the penalty for
certain crimes under particular circumstances, as specified.

   This bill would place a moratorium on the carrying out of any
executions, as specified, until certain criteria are met, or, failing
that, until January 1, 2009, as specified. The bill would require
make findings and state declarations of the Legislature relative to
the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, as
specified.
   Existing law provides that if judgment is for imprisonment in the
state prison, the sheriff of the county shall, among other duties,
upon receipt of a certified abstract or minute order thereof, take
and deliver the defendant to the warden of the state prison.

   This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to those
provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1. 
   The Legislature finds and declares the following:
   (a) Pursuant to Senate Resolution 44, on August 27, 2004, the
Senate resolved to establish the California Commission on the Fair
Administration of Justice.

   (b) The California Commission on the Fair Administration of
Justice will study and review the administration of justice in
California to determine the extent to which that process has failed
in the past, resulting in wrongful executions or the wrongful
conviction of innocent persons. The commission will examine ways of
providing safeguards and making improvements in the way the criminal
justice system functions and make any recommendations and proposals
designed to further ensure that the application and administration of
criminal justice in California is just, fair, and accurate.

   (c) The commission will be conducting its work and must complete
its study and make any recommendations for reform by December 31,
2007.

   (d) There are currently more than 640 inmates on death row in
California, more than any other state in the country, and of those
640, more than 20 have appeals pending in the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals, which is the final procedural step before execution dates
are set for those inmates whose convictions and sentences are
affirmed.

   (e) Because of the mature state of the appeals and habeas
proceedings in so many death penalty appeals, it is highly likely
that prior to December 31, 2007, dozens of execution dates will be
set, clemency proceedings will occur in those cases, clemency
decisions will need to be made, and if clemency is not granted,
executions will occur, all without the benefit of the California
Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice's findings and
recommendations. 

   (f) In light of the final and irrevocable nature of the death
penalty, and to ensure that no innocent person is ever executed in
this state, it is necessary to place a moratorium on executions until
the work of the California Commission on the Fair Administration of
Justice is completed.

   SEC. 2.  Section 3700 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   3700.
   No judge, court, or officer, other than the Governor, can suspend
the execution of a judgment of death, except the warden of the State
prison to whom he or she is delivered for execution, as
provided in the six succeeding sections this
chapter , unless an appeal is taken.

   SEC. 3.  Section 3700.1 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
   3700.1.
   (a) There is hereby imposed a moratorium on the carrying out of
executions in this state. The warden of the state prison to whom an
inmate is delivered for execution shall not carry out any executions
during the moratorium period.

   (b) The moratorium period shall commence upon the date this
section becomes effective, and shall continue until the Legislature
has fully considered any recommendations of the California Commission
on the Fair Administration of Justice and has enacted legislation
ending the moratorium period, provided however, that if the
Legislature fails to enact legislation ending or extending the
moratorium period, the moratorium shall end on January 1, 2009.

   (c) Once the moratorium has ended, any date for an execution shall
be set as provided by Section 1227.
  SECTION 1.  Section 1216 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   1216.
   If the judgment is for imprisonment in the state prison, the
sheriff of the county shall, upon receipt of a certified abstract or
minute order thereof, take and deliver the defendant to the warden of
the state prison. The sheriff also shall deliver to the warden the
certified abstract of the judgment or minute order, a Criminal
Investigation and Identification (CII) number, a Confidential
Medical/Mental Health Information Transfer Form indicating that the
defendant is medically capable of being transported, and shall take
from the warden a receipt for the defendant.  
                                   

[BigFinn]

Very well put.

[Babu]

Two words: Girlie Men

[iPod Shuffle]

People on here who say Calif. would be better off without Ahnold just don't realize how insane things would get if he were not around to play Kindergarten Cop with these bozos.

[ArmstedFragg]

What a line-up of sponsors:

All the usual suspects except Goldberg.

[GrandmaPatriot]

How many times do the voters in Ca have to make their wishes known? Why are these libs still there when the voters said yes to the death penalty? Maybe a few more people will wake up to this trash in the capitol and decide to take them out.

[rdcorso]

The idiots who want Tookie to live should be forced to look at the pictures of his dead victims.Michael Savage has the pictures up on his website that show the gruesome handy work of Tookie the scumbag.Warning the pictures are real graphic and might bother some people.

[Left2Right]

What we really need is a bill to speed up the execution process. I'm willing to see an "innocent person" die every now & then if it makes society safer. Generally, these so called "innocents" have a long record of other gruesome crimes anyway. You don't hear about too much violent crime or murders in Singapore, that's for sure.

Bottom line is that I don't want my tax dollars going to support a scum-bag murderer for 50 years when he should have been executed long ago. What good does it do for society to have a sociopath like Charles Manson locked up for 50 years? Inevitably, there will be deranged individuals who will idolize these types of nut-jobs and then go out and commit real crimes in their own demented way of emulating them.

And the idea that any parent would let their child read a book written by a cold-blooded murder makes absolutely no sense to me.

[JudgemAll]

until a special commission finishes examining whether California's criminal justice system allows innocent people to be convicted

---

Total hypocrisy:

we all know liberals practice political ethnic like cleansing. Christians and men are hated by judges and knowingly sent to their deaths in unsegregated jail where black and Latino gangs rape them and infect them with AIDS.

Bedroom abortion and "abuse" privacy issues go hand in hand in making sure this happens. Cops have become like doctors, sending men to jail as doctors come in to kill the baby they made with the wife.

It's like people pretending they can support both Palestine and Israel, knowingly of the resulting one way or even two way genocide resulting.

[JudgemAll]

They want indeed to keep them alive for rendering unto themselves. The issue is not his life, but what life can he possibly defend? These pathetic whack jobs only plead for their own miserable skin when so many out there die pleading for the lives of the innocent...and these get ignored.

It's not indeed for what they did, but for what they'll do that both sides of the issue fight for. Liberals see him as a gang collectivist reactionary thug hero of theirs, and that is the issue. They would not be there had he fragged a bunch of feminist ACLU lawyers, believe me.

[pankot]

Dems at it again?
But, ooh ooh ooh, think of the black votes!

[Alia]

Headline of the article: HOW TO MAKE MILLIONS AND RIP OFF THE TAXPAYER IN THE PROCESS -- VOTE DEMOCRAT!