The 360 | Should the death penalty be outlawed?
Speed readWho, when and where: California Gov. Gavin Newsom on March 13 issued an executive order that grants reprieves to 737 inmates on the state’s death row, the nation’s largest. Newsom doesn’t have the power to overturn California’s death penalty law, but the order prevents executions while he is governor.
The governor’s move has drawn a range of reactions, including from President Trump, who said he is “not thrilled.” Marc Klaas, whose 12-year-old daughter Polly was murdered in a well-known 1993 case, argued that Newsom was defending “the worst dregs of our society.” However, Aba Gayle, whose teen daughter Catherine Blount was killed in 1980, said, “An execution is a state-sanctioned, premeditated murder — don’t do that in my name, and definitely don’t do that in Catherine’s name.
What’s next: Along with the moratorium, Newsom said he is considering commuting death sentences. The governor needs state Supreme Court approval to pardon or commute the sentence of anyone twice convicted of a felony, a restriction that applies to more than half of condemned inmates. Fellow Democratic lawmakers introduced an amendment to repeal the death penalty, a move that could put the issue on the 2020 ballot.
Newsom faces backlash from some Republicans, law-enforcement groups and victims-rights organizations. The issue is politically charged, with California voters supporting capital punishment in 2012 and 2016, when they voted to shorten appeal time for executions. A new poll finds that most state residents still support the death penalty.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
California governor to put moratorium on death penalty: sourceCalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom will impose a moratorium on the state's de...
Read more »
California governor halts death penalty: 'I couldn't sleep'California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday imposed a moratorium on the death ...
Read more »
California Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to halt the death penaltyGov. Newsom is expected to announce a reprieve for 737 inmates on death row on Wednesday.
Read more »
Charles Manson, Rose Bird, Caryl Chessman and California’s wrenching death penalty debateAdvocates and others on both sides have endured decades of frustration in California’s wrenching wars over the death penalty.
Read more »
Newsom takes his case against death penalty to national stageAs he did on gay marriage, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is again defying popular opinion, this time hoping his state and the nation will eventually agree with him on capital punishment
Read more »
In San Quentin, a moratorium on the death penalty elicits a muted response from the doomedAs the news of Gov. Newsom's moratorium rippled through the prison, one inmate says there were no celebrations, no cheers among the 737 condemned men on the largest death row in the United States
Read more »
California Gov. Gavin Newsom to impose moratorium on death penaltyNewsom plans to suspend the practice through an executive order, saying that it ‘has been — by any measure — a failure.’
Read more »