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Lisa Green has
been the Kern County District Attorney since 2010.
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Prop.
66 preserves justice and public safety
Oct
7, 2016
The death penalty in California is
broken. There is virtually nobody who disagrees with this statement.
There are currently 746 convicted
murderers languishing on death row. Four people have been on death row since
1979. Four years ago the voters of California rejected a repeal of the death
penalty with the fervent hope that lawmakers in Sacramento would fix it. The
legislators resisted the attempt to amend the death penalty (and yes, there was
such an attempt) and now the future of the death penalty in our state has been
left to the voters. This time, voters have the opportunity to fix the death
penalty with a yes vote on Proposition 66.
Much has been written about the death
penalty as voters prepare to cast votes in favor of repeal (Prop. 62) or reform
(Prop. 66). If both initiatives pass, the one with the greatest number of votes
will become law. Some people argue the death penalty is a deterrent while
others say it is not.
Some disagree with the United States
Supreme Court and claim it is cruel and unusual punishment, even though it is
not. Some say the risk of executing an innocent person is too high. However,
the truth is there have been no innocent people executed in California, and
according to Gov. Jerry Brown, no innocent people are on California’s death
row. California has many safeguards in place, and will continue to have those
safeguards if the reform initiative passes.
Prop. 66 reforms the death penalty by
providing counsel to death row inmates in a timely manner and by housing them
in prisons other than San Quentin Prison, which will result in huge savings.
Prisoners will now be required to work
and pay restitution. The reform also decreases the number of post-conviction
appeals that bring delay upon delay, causing victims’ family members to wonder
if they will ever receive justice for the loss of their loved ones.
While there is much said by opponents of
capital punishment, we do not hear very much from the families of victims who
have endured unending years waiting for death sentences to be imposed. Over the
course of the last few months I have had the opportunity to listen to and speak
with victims’ family members from four different cases.
The loved ones killed were Ferrol
Robin’s brother, Gwendolyn Turner’s husband, Mark Klaas’ 12-year-old daughter
(Polly), and Kermit Alexander’s mother, sister, and two nephews (ages 8 and
13).
Ferroll Robins speaks of her brother who
was murdered 15 years ago for no reason other than he was in the wrong place at
the wrong time. He was murdered by a man who went on to murder two other
innocent people. Ms. Robins speaks of her brother’s daughter, her niece, and
how every happy occasion is also a time of sadness, as she reflects on the fact
her brother cannot share in these moments.
Gwendolyn Turner met with me and
described the heartache she felt sitting through the trial of her husband’s
killer. She told me the killer didn’t seem to care. It was as if he knew even
if he were convicted of two murders, he would never be executed. Mark Klaas
speaks of Polly, who was abducted from her home and murdered by Richard Allen
Davis, a man who had been recently paroled from prison. Kermit Alexander has
waited 30 years for justice. He speaks eloquently about his loss although his
voice is raw with emotion. His family was executed because the killer went to
the wrong address.
Justice for these four individuals and
their families is nothing less than death. If the death penalty is repealed,
all death sentences will automatically be reduced to life without the
possibility of parole. Justice for these murderers is not life without the
possibility of parole. These murderers deserve execution. In each of these cases the trial judge who heard the evidence
in the case had the opportunity to reduce the jury’s verdict but chose not to
do so. Because of the brutality and wantonness of each of these crimes, none of
the judges reduced the sentences.
Please help reform the death penalty in
California in order to see that justice is provided to these family members.
Preserve justice and public safety with a NO vote on Proposition 62 and a YES
vote on Proposition 66.
INTERNET
SOURCE: http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/prop-preserves-justice-and-public-safety/article_84bb4e92-bc20-5ffb-a06a-81d7f7d0c799.html
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