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Seeking the death penalty’s demise

August 29, 2011

Urging termination of California’s death penalty, an advocacy group launched a ballot initiative effort Monday, just days after a similar proposal stalled in the legislature.

Taxpayers for Justice announced a signature-gathering campaign aimed at giving state voters a chance to weigh in on replacing the death penalty with life without possibility of parole.

In June, the state Senate unanimously approved a bill which would have accomplished the same result, with Sen. Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo) part of the 39-0 majority. The bill, SB 490, then died in an Assembly committee.

Erin Mellon, a spokesperson for Taxpayers for Justice, said in a statement, “We have ample evidence that California’s death penalty system is dysfunctional and costly. The death penalty costs California taxpayers approximately $170 million a year… $ 4 billion since 1978.”

Taxpayers for Justice describes itself as “a coalition of law enforcement professionals, crime victim advocates, and individuals exonerated from wrongful conviction.” The group’s more outspoken members include Gil Garcetti, a former Los Angeles district attorney responsible for dozens of death penalty prosecutions; and Jeanne Woodford, former San Quentin State Prison warden who oversaw four executions.


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The victim(s) has (have) already paid the down payment… time for the bad guys and gals to close the escrow.


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I believe there is a need for a death penalty. I also agree that our current system is ineffective, completely lacking in deterrence, and basically a waste of time and public expense.


A few years ago I sat on a federal jury who indicted a person who confessed to ordering or personally performing 28 murders of which 22 occurred while in prison. This person was given a deal by the Attorney General not to be prosecuted with the death penalty in place of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Attorney General was more interested in building a case against a criminal syndicate than ending the life of a killer who confessed to 28 murders.


Obviously, putting someone in prison for life is not a deterrent either. 2 of the above mentioned 22 murders occurred while in prison when hits were ordered on innocent family members outside of prison of other inmates who did not carry out his orders to kill others on his behalf.


People like this guy mentioned should be killed by the State. Instead he has a sweet deal to live out his life in protective custody at significantly higher public cost.


How many life sentences can a killer be given before it before it becomes clearly obvious to the justice system that it is not working when a murderer can be sent to prison for life only to become a serial killer behind bars that some times reaches out beyond the prison walls to kill the innocent.


To Quote former LAPD Chief William Bratton in response to a death penalty question from a journalist: “There are some violent people who simply need to be put to death”. I agree!


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Yeah, but if that d-bag got the death penalty, it would cost a WHOLE LOT MORE than his life in prison, as death row inmates simply cost more to “house” while waiting (forever) to be killed.


I do not think we should have a death penalty at all, rather I’d like to see life at hard labor. Work those f’ers so hard seven days a week that they wish they were dead. However, all systems can be abused and if we start having prison labor, it’s not too far fetched to vision a world where people are incarcerated for the simplest of reasons just to provide a free labor pool…


It’s a tough one. Saying “kill the bastard” is an easy out, but sets a bad precedent for a society.


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r0y, we do find common ground once in awhile, I agree completely with your post. Sometimes you remind me that not all right wingers are stupid, I need that reminder once in awhile.


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The Do It Yourself Hanging Machine the good old days be sure to see Roy’s penthouse .:->


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The death penalty issue is just a small part of a completely out of control criminal justice system. Those who are convicted of crimes should be punished by being removed from society and made to pay/do restitution toward society. That does not mean spending tens thousands of dollars every year to house, feed and protect them. The whole system needs to be changed so they are forced to be productive enough to at least pay for their own keep and producing revenue for the state would be ideal. Prison run farms that use their labor to feed themselves, a dismantling of the whole unionized correctional officer system, some form of industry that brings in revenue, only basic medical care etc. Forced labor for all. The whole death penalty process needs to be streamlined. Do I really think any of this will ever happen? Not in California in my lifetime. It is all so out of control it’s beyond repair.


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Studies have consistently shown that the death penalty has NO deterrent effect on crime. Police officers oppose the death penalty because they know someone who has committed a capital crime would not hesitate at shooting a cop to avoid capture, since their life literally depends on it. Most other modern nations in the world (with the exception of China) consider the death penalty to be an antiquated and barbaric practice.


It’s interesting how some people who preach about “valuing the sanctity of life” suddenly change their tune about how sacred life is when it comes to the death penalty.


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I don’t want to go off topic here, but there is a difference between the guilty and the unborn.


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Well first off I never mentioned the “unborn”, but since you decided to take it there, I definitely agree that there is a huge difference between the guilty and the unborn. My point was that people shouldn’t speak in absolutes about how much they value the sanctity of life when they are only including or excluding certain lives.


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sloslo, put on your protective gear and watch for flying Crucifixes, you’re in for it now!


Please refrain from making sense, it infuriates a lot of people around here.


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One minor quibble. A dead person is not capable of committing additional crimes. I can understand why LEOs wouldn’t want their job to be more dangerous than it needs to be though.


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We should send our death row inmates to Texas.


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In other words domestic “Extraordinary Rendition”, aka execution by proxy. You should have been a CIA agent during the Cheney Presidency – you would have fit right in.


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works for me


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Heck, just send them to down town SLO, after all its the happiest place on earth and maybe some of our D/P opponents here can help them see the I’ll of their ways with a much needed talking to, LOL.


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We need a bill that mandates an expedited means of carrying out executions. The reason the death penalty provision is so expensive is the required appeals that take 20 years to finish. We need speedier executions and oh by the way we need to include sexual predators to the capital crimes list. That would free up significant space and reduce costs at ASH and elsewhere. Speed up the process and reduce costs.


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I agree, and as for ‘Typoqueen’…..stop posting, it looks obvious to me that no one likes what you have to say!


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Duh,,,okay, if you say so.


You really think,,,hmm let me restate that, you really ‘feel’ that you have a lot of power. Because I refuse to jump on the crazy train and follow blindly with everyone you want me to stop posting. Is there rule around here that we must all think the same,,I missed the rule that says that this is a right wing only discussion.


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that’s a very poor conversation method that you are suggesting, it tends to creates an echo chamber other people’s commentary is at least as valued as your’s hopefully we discuss ideas if no one has ideas we can talk about events and things that are actual and the people involved and what we think and feel about that, the last thing we talk about is what we think and feel about other people posting here. that’s my 2% .


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The death penalty is archaic and serves no purpose other than to give joy to those that are judgemental, bitter and get off at seeing someone die. I could understand a person wanting to kill someone that killed one of their loved ones, I’d probably feel the same way, but those are emotional feelings and in reality make no sense at all. I have yet to hear of one good reason to kill another person. Funny thing about this argument is that every person that I’ve seen argue for it are ‘good Christians that are taught to have forgiveness in their heart’. Typical


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Hum…Christian bashing…classy! By the way, there are plenty of non-Christians that support the death penalty.


I am Christian and I am against the death penalty. Personally, I think it far worse to spend the rest of your life in prison than dying. Also, there are many wrongful convictions, and even one single person that is put to death that is wrongfully convicted is one too many.


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I agree with your last sentiment but if you can find me one person that’s pro death penalty that isn’t a Christian then I’ll,,I’ll, I’ll,,,I’ll admit that I’m wrong (no money to bet). Seriously though I’m sure there might be one or two out there but I’ve seen them on the news waiting outside of the prisons at midnight laughing, living it up and partying because someone is about to die and they are always Christian. I’m not anti Christian I simply don’t like hypocracy and unfortunately there seems to be a lot of hypocracy when it comes to religion.

Ask each of the poster here that are all for killing other humans, I’ll bet they are all proud Christians.


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@Typo…speaking in absolutes “they are always Christian” and “I’ll bet they are all proud Christians” will lead you to almost ALWAYS make erroneous statements. That is one (almost) absolute statement you can bank on.


For your information, the majority of the US supports the death penalty (meaning greater than 50% of the population). Although, surveys have shown that more Christians than non-Christians support the death penalty, there are still plenty of non-Christians (including agnostics and atheists that also support the death penalty). What you are missing in your quest to point out the “hypocrisy” is that you and I are in the minority. So, if you start taking shots at religious groups at the same time you are trying to make a point, your point will be lost along with the insults. The issue is whether or not the US should use the death penalty as a means of punishment.


So try this…use more facts and consensus building, less hyperbole and bashing. And Typo…I got news for you, to certain degree, we are all hypocrites (oops…there I go with another absolute statement)


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You are correct, I ‘always’ try not to speak in absolutes. I said that there might be one or two but I do have a tendency to say ‘always’ and that’s a bad habit.


Yes the majority of the pop. are pro deathers, at one time the majority of the pop. were against civil rights, women voting etc..


I don’t feel that I was taking shots at religious groups. But I don’t like a lot of the Christian beliefs and the way they are pushed on the rest of us such as this whole vengeance thing and I won’t walk on egg shells because I might hurt their feelings when addressing them on it. Christians, not all but the ones that don’t care about killing people are hypocrites. Their Bible tells them that it’s okay to kill kids, that god is vengeful, stone thier wives, kill over your religious beliefs etc it also tells them not to judge, do to others what you want done to you, love your neighbor and to forgive that’s hypocritical and that’s what the pro DPers are IMO. I do feel that in general killing, wars, retribution, judgmentalness etc. are Christian traits and I feel that history will back me on that one.


I don’t mean to sound like I’m bashing Christians, I love my Christian family and friends and I don’t look down on them at all. Not all Christians are created equal, some see the hypocrisy. Many Christians are good people but I’m referring to the pro death penalty group like the one that are posting in this forum.


How can a good person ie Christian with good morals pull the switch on person, inject them or put another humans head in a noose, doesn’t that make them a murderer, not by the law but just for the fact that they have the emotional ability and morality to do such a thing? It’s the Christians on this board that don’t value human life, they don’t even care if an innocent person is murdered by the state, they think that your child is expendable,,,oopsy, knocked off the wrong guy, better luck next time. Those are the good Christians that are posting here and I’m sorry that you don’t see the hypocrisy with that.


I can’t make ‘points’ with most of the posters here, they are set on their ways. But there are a few that can have cohesive discussions on these topics.


My post wasn’t hyperbole before and it’s not now, it an honest account of how I feel.


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Right on rally,

Keeping vermin like charles manson alive for decades is not cheap either.

IMHO, this about politics, plain and simple. Life in prison is more like a country club with all the perks and priveledges, yet a simple hanging would cost next to nothing and set an example that would deter crime in all but the worst of the worst who really don’t care if they die or not anyway…


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“Life in prison is more like a country club with all the perks and priveledges,”

Too funny. Yes easy, I have a choice between Club Med, Sandels and the big house, you know I’ll go for the big house.


“yet a simple hanging would cost next to nothing and set an example that would deter crime”


First of all it is well know that a good ole hangin wouldn’t deter anything. Secondly, how bout those innocent people that don’t have the money to hire a good attorney? Guess their expendable, after all they’re only the black, poor and people with special needs, we don’t need those stinkin people anyways.


With your idea of retribution I would say that Iran might be your ideal place to live.


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Your correct, make people think about or suffer the consequences for raping,maiming, killing etc,etc. Geez Typo your post says you consider Blacks to be special needs (retards?) poor innocent criminals with no representation and the majority of whats locked up sitting on DR? You don’t live on Elm st do you??


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I find your use of the word ‘retard’ offensive and rude and I’d appreciate it you didn’t use it when posting in this forum. If you read my post correctly I have commas between the words. Since my grammar is so atrocious try and stick with me on this and I’ll try to type slow for you. African Americans,,,,,people that are mentally challenged,,,,, or/and poor people can’t afford proper representation. Unlike OJ some people can’t get decent attorneys and dream teams to help them. The system is stacked against those people. That’s not my opinion that’s a fact, look it up. The people killed by the govt. aren’t wealthy. Yes the majority are guilty but not all of them are guilty. What if your child was one of those few innocent people that was put to death? Oh well, I guess your kid is expendible, but not mine. 1 innocent person put to death makes the entire thing wrong. Those innocent people that were put to death (especially in Texas) had fathers, mothers, perhaps kids, brothers and sisters. It just doesn’t affect those people convicted of a crime they didn’t commit it affects a lot of other innocent people as well.


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$4 Billion since 78 is a lot of money, but who knows how much us tax payers have spent on life’ers rotting in prison with no possible chance for parole for unfathomable crimes against others ? I bet its far more than the $4 billion.

Going back or being in to prison is like a welfare check for some, 3 hot and a cot, telephone. color TV, Pizza, delivered meals, a gym and all the birds of a feather you could want. Put them back in society they know wouldn’t know where to begin to cope with life on the outside.


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