On March 13 Governor Gavin Newsom, by executive order, instituted a moratorium on the death penalty in California and ordered the repeal of California’s lethal injection protocol along with immediate closure of the Death Chamber at San Quentin State Prison. California has the largest death row population (currently 737 people) in the Western Hemisphere, and capital punishment has a long and complicated history in the state.
Newsom said:
The intentional killing of another person is wrong and as Governor, I will not oversee the execution of any individual. Our death penalty system has been, by all measures, a failure. It has discriminated against defendants who are mentally ill, black and brown, or can’t afford expensive legal representation. It has provided no public safety benefit or value as a deterrent. It has wasted billions of taxpayer dollars. Most of all, the death penalty is absolute. It’s irreversible and irreparable in the event of human error.
The statement released by the Governor’s office expands on the unjust application of capital punishment:
The death penalty is unevenly and unfairly applied to people of color, people with mental disabilities, and people who cannot afford costly legal representation. More than six in ten people on California’s death row are people of color. A 2005 study found that those convicted of killing whites were more than three times as likely to be sentenced to death as those convicted of killing blacks and more than four times as likely as those convicted of killing Latinos. At least 18 of the 25 people executed in the U.S. in 2018 had one or more of the following impairments: significant evidence of mental illness; evidence of brain injury, developmental brain damage, or an IQ in the intellectually disabled range; chronic serious childhood trauma, neglect, and/or abuse.
What You Can Do:
You can watch a recording of Newsom’s announcement here, and then thank him for his brave action. Also, be aware: the SF Chronicle predicts that while Gov. Newsom may not suffer personally for his action, Democrats in swing districts may – so pass this on to your friends!
Use your own words, or check out these resources for reasons why the death penalty should be abolished:
- ACLU: The Case Against the Death Penalty
- Psychology Today: It’s Time to Kill the Death Penalty
- New Republic: At Last, a Bipartisan Argument Against the Death Penalty
Contact Governor Gavin Newsom:
- Phone: (916) 445-2841 or Fax: (916) 558-3160
- Postcard: 1303 10th Street, Suite 1173, Sacramento, CA 95814
- Twitter: @CAgovernor
Death Penalty Illegalizer graphic by Ssolbergj
