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August 19, 2005
Death Penalty Legislation
Dear FCL Supporter,
By all accounts, the politics surrounding capital punishment are beginning to change. Consider the following:
- Since the early 1970’s there have been 119 exonerations from death rows around the country. That’s nearly one exoneration for every eight executions, an unacceptable margin of error. Some condemned prisoners were exonerated within hours of being executed. Six men were wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death in California.
- According to a study by the Santa Clara Law Review, California has nearly all of the same problems with capital prosecutions identified by the Illinois Commission on Capital Punishment that led to the wrongful convictions of at least 17 men in that state, five more than the 12 persons executed in Illinois.
- DNA evidence demonstrates that the number of wrongful convictions is much higher than was previously believed. Our legal system cannot guarantee that only the guilty are convicted. DNA evidence is only a factor in a small percentage of cases.
- Race, place and economic status – not the facts of the case – often determine who is sentenced to death.
In 2004, the California State Senate created the bipartisan California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice to study why innocent people are being wrongfully convicted. The commission will make its recommendations for reform to the Legislature no later than December 31, 2007.
While a growing number of people oppose capital punishment, even those who support the death penalty in principle want it reserved only for those who are guilty of the most heinous crimes. Seventy-three percent of Californians support a time out on executions while the reliability and fairness of the death penalty are studied. (Field Poll, June 2000)
Assembly Bill 1121, by Paul Koretz, (D-Hollywood) and Sally Lieber (D-Mountain View), would suspend executions in California until the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice submits its findings to the governor and Legislature and reforms are implemented. AB 1121 will be heard in the Assembly Public Safety Committee in January 2006.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Write letters supporting AB 1121 to Assemblyman Mark Leno, Chair, Assembly Public Safety Committee, 1020 N St. Room 111, Sacramento, CA 95814; and to your Assembly Member. Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper and make your churches and civic groups aware of the need to pass this important legislation.
To find out who your Assembly Member is, point your web browser to http://assembly.ca.gov/defaulttext.asp
To read the text of the Santa Clara Law Review study, Click Here
For a copy of AB 1121, Click Here
Sincerely,
Jim Lindburg
Legislative Advocate
Friends Committee on Legislation
717 K Street, Suite 500-B
Sacramento, CA 95814
Ph: (916) 443-3734
Fax: (916) 448-6109
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