California governor wants to stop executions



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A death chamber in Texas in 2000

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Getty Images

Legend

The last execution in California took place in 2006

California Governor Gavin Newsom will announce a moratorium on executions and temporary bail for the state's 737 death row inmates.

US media reports that he plans to sign a decree later Wednesday, describing the death penalty as "incompatible with our core values".

California has not carried out any executions since 2006, a series of legal battles against methods of execution having been conducted.

No condemned man will be released.

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EPA

Legend

Gov Newsom can not permanently end the death penalty – a popular vote is needed

Governor Newsom took office in January and one of his campaign commitments was a moratorium on the death penalty.

"I do not believe that a civilized society can claim to be a leader in the world as long as its government continues to sanction the premeditated and discriminatory execution of its people," he said in a statement released. with the executive order.

The ordinance will also withdraw California's deadly injection protocol and close the state's enforcement chamber at San Quentin Prison.

Death penalty in the United States

  • The death penalty is a legal sentence in 30 US states
  • Since 1976, Texas has performed the highest number of executions (560), followed by Virginia (113) and Oklahoma (112).
  • In the United States, 2,738 inmates are under sentence of death
  • California has the highest number of death row inmates, 737, but has only had 13 executions since 1976.

Source: Information Center on the death penalty

Two electoral initiatives aimed at ending the death penalty in California have failed to win the majority in recent years, with 48% of the votes cast in 2012 and 47% in 2016. Governor Newsom has supported both initiatives.

But a separate proposal passed in 2016 got support for his request to speed up executions in California.

The governor does not have the power to permanently abolish the 1978 legislation on the death penalty of the state. A repeal would require a popular vote for change. The next opportunity for such a vote would be in the 2020 elections.

The governor that Newsom is issuing in turn expires when he leaves office; his current term lasts until January 2023.

More than 900 people have been sentenced to death in California since 1978, but only 13 have been executed.

79 others died of natural causes and 26 others committed suicide, according to figures from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

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