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June 15, 2009
June 30 Day of Action against the Death Penalty
Dear FCL Supporter,
Join Death Penalty Focus, Friends Committee on Legislation of California and ACLU for a Statewide Day of Action to End the Death Penalty!
June 30th, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Sacramento, California
Tentative Schedule of Events
Public Hearing on Lethal Injection:
9 AM to 3 PM
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will hold a public hearing to receive comments about the proposed new regulations concerning the lethal injection process in California.
The hearing will be held at:
Department of Health Services
The Auditorium
1500 Capitol Ave.
Sacramento, CA 95814
March to the Capitol: 3 - 3:30 PM
Visits with legislators: 3:30 - 5:00 PM
CLICK HERE TO ATTEND OR FOR MORE INFO
WE NEED YOU TO WRITE A LETTER!
See below.
IMPORTANT: CAN'T ATTEND THE HEARING? WRITE A LETTER!
Make your voice heard by submitting a comment.
Please consider submitting a comment expressing your concern about the proposed lethal injection procedures in California. This is VERY important.
How to Submit a Written Public Comment on CDCR's Proposed Lethal Injection Procedures:
1. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has released proposed regulations on the lethal injection process for public comment. Any member of the public may comment on any aspect of the proposed regulations.
2. The CDCR is required by law to read and consider to every relevant comment. The summary below is provided to assist interested members of the public in understanding how the proposed regulations impact individuals and the state, and in drafting relevant public comments.
3. You are encouraged to make your letter as long as you want, and to include as much information as you want about yourself and your perspective on the death penalty. (Please feel free to visit DPF's website www.deathpenalty.org/facts for the latest facts and statistics.) Please make sure to include at least one comment that is specific to the proposed regulations (examples below).
4. Written comments may be submitted by mail, fax, or email. They must be received by June 30, 2009 at 5:00 pm PDT. If possible, please consider submitting your comment between June 20th and June 30th. If you send your comment by mail, please also consider sending a copy by email to ensure it arrives by June 30th.
5. Comments should be directed to:
Mr. Timothy Lockwood
Chief, Regulation and Policy Management Branch
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
P.O. Box 942883
Sacramento, CA 94283-0001
Email : rpmb@cdcr.ca.gov
Fax : (916) 255 5601
6. Comments should note that they are regarding the proposed Amendments to Title 15, Article 7.5, Sections 3349.
7. Please include your name and address in your letter.
8. Please consider looking at a Sample Letter (MS Word) prepared by Death Penalty Focus for ideas on how to set-up and structure your letter. See here, #8.
Primary Issues of Concern:
I. Fiscal Impact of the Proposed Regulations
The CDCR is required to make an assessment of the fiscal impact of the proposed regulations. The CDCR has declared that the proposed regulations have no fiscal impact at all. This is incorrect. The public has a right to know exactly how much it will cost taxpayers to carry out executions using lethal injection at San Quentin prison, as proposed in the regulations.
II. Media Access and the Public's Right to Know
If the state of California kills prisoners in the name of the people, then the people have a right to know the truth about the process. The First Amendment protects the right of the media to witness the execution and to access information about the process. The proposed regulations unduly limit the media's access to information, and therefore the public's right to know.
III. Religious Freedom and Rights
The Constitution, human rights norms, and basic human decency require that before the state takes a person's life, he or she should be provided with full access to and support of appropriate religious advisors. The proposed regulations unduly interfere with the religious rights of the person to be executed and fail to guarantee all necessary religious freedoms.
a. The State Chaplain Cannot be Asked to Disclose Private Communications
The proposed regulations require the State Chaplain to report to the Warden the contents of private conversations with the person to be executed (3349.3.1(e), 3349.3.3(f)). This is an unnecessary violation of the clergy penitent relationship, is contrary to the ethical obligations of clergy, and may violate state law.
b. Accommodation Must be Made for End of Life Rituals
The proposed regulations make no accommodation for end of life rituals such as sweat lodges (3349.3.4(e)). The regulations are silent as to how such requests will be handled. The CDCR previously denied at least one Native American's request to have a sweat lodge prior to execution. The regulations should include a process for requesting and accommodating such rituals.
c. All Spiritual Advisors Should be Allowed Cell Front Visiting
The proposed regulations only permit the State Chaplains to visit the person to be executed in front of his cell to conduct necessary religious rituals (3349.3.4(e), 3349.4.2(b)). All other spiritual advisors are limited to visiting in the common visiting area, a space that may be inappropriate for some rituals such as confessions. All spiritual advisors should be allowed equal access to cell front visiting.
d. A Spiritual Advisor Should be Permitted in the Execution Chamber
The proposed regulations limit the spiritual advisors to visiting in the holding area next to the execution chamber, and do not permit the advisor to accompany the person to be executed into the chamber (3349.3.4(e)(3)). Under the proposed regulations, other individuals are stationed in the chamber, particularly a non guard execution team member (3349.4.5(e)(8)) and the Warden (3349.4.5(f)(1)). Texas has long permitted the spiritual advisor to enter the execution chamber and to touch the person during the execution. There is no legitimate reason to exclude the spiritual advisor from the execution chamber or prohibit physical contact with the person being executed.
IV. Treatment of the Person to be Executed and Their Family
Many aspects of the proposed regulations are unnecessarily dehumanizing and burdensome to the person to be executed and his family. Undoubtedly, the state's actions in carrying out the execution will always be hurtful to these individuals. But the proposed regulations impose many unnecessary burdens and restrictions that only serve to isolate and intimidate the person to be executed and his family.
V. Denial of Legal Rights
The proposed regulations fail to protect the legal rights of the person to be executed, particularly the rights of individuals with mental or physical disabilities. Further, the regulations ignore the rights of surviving family members to review and potentially contest the manner in which the execution was conducted.
For more detail on any of these sections, please read the 10-page analysis.
CDCR's proposed regulations (43 pages) and supporting material are available at: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Regulations/Adult_Operations/Pending_Rules_Page.html#LIP
Sincerely,
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
1225 8th Street, Suite 220
Sacramento, California 95814
Fclca.org
Contact: Kevan Insko, Director of Development and Outreach
Kevan@fclca.org
Jim Lindburg, Legislative Director
JimL@fclca.org
(916) 443-3734
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