Information from a Fresno Criminal Lawyer About Recent Death Penalty-Related Propositions

Recently, Californians voted in favor of the death penalty on two separate proposed measures. In the first case, Proposition 62, roughly 54 percent of people voted against repealing the death penalty and replacing it with life in prison without the possibility of parole. Instead, with just over half of the voters in favor of Proposition 66, Californians have voted to speed up the repeal process, so condemned murderers are executed, rather than dragging out their appeals, possibly for decades.

California's history of carrying out executions of those sentenced to the death penalty is currently minimal. Of the more than 900 people sentenced to death in the state since 1978, only 13 have been executed. About 750 of them are still on death row, and despite the large number of people on death row, the last execution in the state took place in early 2006. While many people on both sides of the state's death penalty issue would agree that California's current capital punishment is not working, the closeness of the vote demonstrates that the state is divided on how to handle California's ineffective approach to the death penalty.

Those who oppose keeping the death penalty argue that the long appeal process is costing the state millions of dollars annually and that there is a risk of executing an innocent person. Those who support keeping the death penalty and who want to speed up the appeal process argue that it helps to bring justice to the families of victims. As of right now, it is unclear if the results of Props 62 and 66 will change anything. 

While there are many people in our state who do commit horrible crimes, unfortunately, innocent people are sometimes accused of horrendous things. Contact us if you need the help of a criminal lawyer.