Posted on 10/15/2010 8:14:07 AM PDT by SmithL
Capital punishment has been the bane of the Brown family. As Jerry Brown seeks another stint as governor, it could be decisive.
When the issue arose during Brown's first debate with Republican foe Meg Whitman, he tried to massage it much as his sister, Kathleen, had done during her bid for the governorship in 1994. She acknowledged her opposition but pledged, "I will faithfully carry out our law on executions, and I'll do it with compassion, but I'll do it with great fidelity to the rule of law."
Both Browns' opposition to capital punishment stems from their father, Pat Brown, who also opposed it but oversaw 36 executions as governor.
The most celebrated case involved Caryl Chessman, Los Angeles' notorious "Red Light Bandit." His appeals exhausted after 12 years on death row, Chessman faced execution in 1960, but Pat Brown gave him a reprieve after hearing an anguished plea from son Jerry, then a 21-year-old college student.
Pat Brown asked legislators to suspend executions, but lawmakers refused. A few weeks later, Chessman was gassed. The elder Brown said later that the Chessman case "hurt me terribly" and was the beginning of his political downfall, . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
When will California voters catch on to the Brown family that has been living off the taxpayers for two generations.
What a travesty to honest people who pay taxes to support these parasites.
The fact that the “elder Brown” would object to the execution of a peace of waste like, shows how degraded we have become.
Some people need killing. Caryl Chessman is a good a example.
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