Yes on California Proposition 34, abolish the Death Penalty

Official Title: Death Penalty. Initiative Statute

Proposition 34 repeals the death penalty in the State of California, replacing it with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

 Killing people is wrong, no matter who does it. Even in war, once an enemy soldier is captured, the rules of war forbid killing the prisoner.

 Some people may truly seem to deserve the death penalty, but they are the exception. The death penalty commonly is given to those who cannot afford good lawyers.

We know innocent people have been convicted and executed by our legal system. That is unacceptable.

 If I could make an exception for imposing the death penalty, it would be for Class A War Criminals, which is those powerful leaders who plan and engage in war. However many Americans have been such Class A War Criminals in our history, not one has been brought to justice, much less sentenced to death.

The death penalty is barbaric. It has been abolished in most civilized nations.

It may not be in our power to abolish it in the United States of America, but we can at least abolish it in the State of California.

 Yes on 34, Repeal the Death Penalty

Proposition 34 summary, official arguments, and text