2012 California Proposition 34 Explained

Proposition 34
Repeal of Proposition 17 (Death Penalty)
Country:California
Date:November 6, 2012
Yes:5974243
No:6460264
Map:2012 California Proposition 34 results map by county.svg
Notes:Source:

Proposition 34 was a California ballot measure that was decided by California voters at the statewide election on November 6, 2012. It sought to repeal Proposition 17, originally passed by voters in 1972, thus abolishing the death penalty in California.

The proposition was defeated 52% against to 48% in favor,[1] despite the fact that supporters had spent 6 times more money in the campaign than opponents.

Background

A coalition of law enforcement officials, murder victims’ family members, and wrongly convicted people launched the initiative campaign for the “Savings, Accountability, and Full Enforcement for California Act”, or SAFE California, Prop. 34.[2] If it had been passed by California voters on November 6, 2012, Prop. 34 would have replaced the death penalty with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, require people sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole to work in order to pay restitution to victims’ families, and allocate approximately $30 million per year for three years to police departments for the purpose of solving open murder and rape cases.[3] Prop. 34 was ahead in the most recent Los Angeles Times poll when voters heard about "the financial ramifications and details of [Prop. 34's] effect on prisoners."[4]

On March 1, 2012, the SAFE California Campaign submitted 799,589 signatures to qualify for the election on November 6, 2012.[5] On April 23, 2012, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced that the initiative had been approved and would be on the November ballot.[6]

Proponents

Proponents of Prop. 34 cite the cost of implementing the death penalty as a major motivating factor behind the initiative.[7] A 2011 study by former prosecutor and federal judge Arthur Alarcón indicates that California has spent approximately $4 billion to execute 13 people since the death penalty was reinstated.[8] The Legislative Analyst's Office official analysis of the proposition shows that Prop. 34 will likely save taxpayers over 100 million dollars per year.[9]

Proponents of Prop. 34 also cite the possibility of executing an innocent person as a major motivating factor behind the initiative.[10] A recently released study by the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy at University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, shows that California's rate of wrongful convictions is the highest in the nation.[11]

Supporters of Prop. 34 include:

Opponents

Some Prop. 34 detractors do not believe the studies that indicate that the death penalty in California is more expensive than life in prison without the possibility of parole.[25] Others admit that the system is broken, but hold out hope that it can be fixed, despite the fact that "reform attempts have failed to make it past the California State Legislature."[26]

When proposition 34 was defeated, Michael Rushford, a death penalty supporter, said the election was a call for California officials to "streamline the appeals process, expand the pool of defense attorneys qualified to handle capital cases, and execute inmates with a single lethal drug instead of the three-drug mixture now used".[27]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Statement of Vote – November 6, 2012, General Election . 13 . California Secretary of State Debra Bowen . December 31, 2015.
  2. Web site: Supporters . SAFE California . August 24, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140826160730/http://www.safecalifornia.org/about . August 26, 2014 . mdy-all .
  3. Web site: SAFE California About Prop. 34 . SAFE California . 2012-11-04 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121111211116/http://www.safecalifornia.org/facts/about . November 11, 2012 . mdy .
  4. News: Support for end to California death penalty surges . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121215212558/http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-poll-death-penalty-20121026%2C0%2C7370020.story . December 15, 2012 . mdy-all .
  5. News: Death penalty opponents move closer to November ballot initiative . Los Angeles Times . March 1, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121113215625/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/03/death-penalty-opponents-move-closer-to-november-ballot-initiative.html . November 13, 2012 . mdy-all .
  6. News: Qualified Statewide Ballot Measures . www.sos.ca.gov . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120829201803/http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/qualified-ballot-measures.htm . August 29, 2012 . July 23, 2017 .
  7. News: Costs & Savings . SAFE California . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130115165337/http://www.safecalifornia.org/facts/savings . January 15, 2013 . July 23, 2017 .
  8. News: Death penalty costs California $184 million a year, study says . Los Angeles Times . Carol J. . Williams . June 20, 2011.
  9. News: Death Penalty. Initiative Statute . vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov . July 23, 2017 .
  10. News: Innocence . SAFE California . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121104205001/http://www.safecalifornia.org/facts/innocence . November 4, 2012 . July 23, 2017 .
  11. http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/CAWrongfulConvictionsPrjFactSheetFINAL.pdf
  12. Web site: Endorsements from Organizations and Unions (147) . SAFE California . https://web.archive.org/web/20160519162939/http://www.safecalifornia.org/about/other-organizations . May 19, 2016 . July 23, 2017 .
  13. Web site: CA Bishops Support Prop 34 to End the Use of the Death Penalty . California Catholic Conference . https://web.archive.org/web/20121007004746/http://www.cacatholic.org/index.php/issues2/reverence-for-life/death-penalty/538-prop-34-support . October 7, 2012 . July 23, 2017.
  14. Web site: California bishops release statement supporting Proposition 34 . Episcopaldigitalnetwork.com . 2012-10-10 . 2017-07-23 . October 12, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121012042321/http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/10/10/california-bishops-release-statement-supporting-proposition-34/ . dead .
  15. Web site: Jeanne Woodford . SAFE California . https://web.archive.org/web/20120620145622/http://www.safecalifornia.org/stories/enforcement/woodford . June 20, 2012 . July 23, 2017.
  16. Web site: Gil Garrett . SAFE California . https://web.archive.org/web/20120620145622/http://www.safecalifornia.org/stories/enforcement/garcetti . June 20, 2012 . July 23, 2017.
  17. Web site: Franky Carrillo, Jr. . SAFE California . https://web.archive.org/web/20120620145622/http://www.safecalifornia.org/stories/innocent/carrillo . June 20, 2012 . July 23, 2017.
  18. Web site: Pboe Anthony . SAFE California . https://web.archive.org/web/20120620145622/http://www.safecalifornia.org/stories/innocent/obies-story . June 20, 2012 . July 23, 2017.
  19. Web site: Deldelp Medina . SAFE California . https://web.archive.org/web/20120620145622/http://www.safecalifornia.org/stories/victims/medina . June 20, 2012 . July 23, 2017.
  20. Web site: Aqeela Sherrills . SAFE California . https://web.archive.org/web/20120620145622/http://www.safecalifornia.org/stories/victims/sherrills . June 20, 2012 . July 23, 2017.
  21. Web site: Don Heller . SAFE California . https://web.archive.org/web/20120620145622/http://www.safecalifornia.org/stories/new-voices/heller . June 20, 2012 . July 23, 2017.
  22. News: Fighting to Repeal California Execution Law They Championed . The New York Times . Adam . Nagourney . April 6, 2012.
  23. Web site: Ron Briggs . SAFE California . https://web.archive.org/web/20120620145622/http://www.safecalifornia.org/stories/new-voices/ron-briggs . June 20, 2012 . July 23, 2017.
  24. News: California's death penalty law: It simply does not work . Los Angeles Times . Ron . Briggs . February 12, 2012.
  25. Web site: California death penalty on November ballot - Associated Press . Politico.Com . 2017-07-23.
  26. Web site: A Cast Of Converts Rallies Around Death Penalty Repeal . Neon Tommy . 2012-05-08 . 2017-07-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120712102547/http://www.neontommy.com/news/2012/05/cast-converts-rally-around-death-penalty-repeal . July 12, 2012 . dead .
  27. https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gquIMgeR1ld7hT0r2x5K26IEtwIg?docId=661fb8e4c49646868cd9a158b4eef211

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