Yes on Proposition 34
It is time to abolish a punishment like the death penalty
The death penalty has been a popular punishment in the United States-one of the few industrialized countries that still uses it and the only one in the Western Hemisphere. California is one of 33 states with the death penalty. In November, voters in our state can abolish this punishment in favor of life without the possibility of parole with Proposition 34.
In addition, the proposition would require those found guilty of first degree murder-usually the type of crime that carries the death penalty-to work in prison and donate their earnings to the victims of the crime. It would also create a $100 million fund to supplement police budgets in order to resolve murder and rape cases.
There is an economic argument in favor of Proposition 34. It’s the cost of the maximum security prisons where convicts live on death row for years and the legal system of prosecutors and defense attorneys, not to mention the legal battles about the lethal injection method, which have been fought in court for years.
However, money is not the best reason to approve this ballot initiative. We think it is time to abolish a punishment that in the majority of countries around the world is considered barbaric and the equivalent to the Old Testament’s lex talionis: an eye for an eye. Even worse, it is a punishment you cannot take back, despite the fact that in the past few years, with the advent of DNA testing and other investigation methods, people who had been imprisoned for years and even decades have been exonerated. Close to 140 death penalty prisoners were freed when their innocence was proven, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
In addition, there is no evidence that the death penalty diminishes the number of murders. In fact, the murder rate in states where there is no death penalty is lower than in states where it does exist. Also, a National Research Council study released in April that focused on three decades of research reveals that studies that conclude that the death penalty deters future crimes are based on flawed premises. A recent nationwide survey of criminologists found that 88% do not consider the death penalty as a deterrent for future crimes.
We think it is better for a guilty person to spend life in prison than for an innocent person to be executed.
