Proposition 34: Campaign to Repeal the Death Penalty is Gaining Traction According to Poll

By Tessa Stuart Fri., Nov. 2 2012 at 2:59 PM

California Department of Corrections

San Quentin State Prison's death chamber.

Good news today for supporters of Proposition 34, the initiative that would end executions in California and see the sentences of the state's 725 death row inmates automatically commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

According to a Field Poll released this morning, for first time, more likely voters are in favor repealing death penalty than are opposed to it--by a margin of 45% to 38%.

The folks at Field Research Corporation say Yes on 34 has gained real traction with their argument--no, not that capital punishment is morally reprehensible, or that many death row inmates are ultimately found innocent on appeal (like the 141 convicts sentenced to death, that have been exonerated since 1973)...

The argument that's finally gotten Californians motivated about repealing the death penalty this election is... its cost to taxpayers.

According to Field,

One of the factors propelling the increase in support of the initiative relates to the growing perception that the death penalty is more expensive to administer than housing a person in prison for life. When asked about this in the current survey, 53% of likely voters now say the death penalty is more expensive than life in prison, while 31% think it is more expensive to house a convicted felon for life. This represents a significant change in voter opinion...A September 2011 Field Poll found slightly more believing life in prison was more expensive than the death penalty (43% to 41%), while in 1989 greater than a two to one majority felt this way (54% to 26%).

That belief, that the death penalty is more expensive than the alternative, is backed up the state's legislative analyst who estimates the passage of Prop 34 would save the state $100 million the first few years after its passage, and about $130 million thereafter in costs are related to "murder trials, appellate litigation, and state corrections."

Another reason the proposition may be winning in the polls is because backers of the measure, like the ACLU and Amnesty International, have raised about $7 million, compared to the paltry $359,900 the opposition has brought in.

Interestingly, some of the largest donors to No on 34 are here in Los Angeles. The Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs and the Los Angeles Police Protective League have donated $20,000 and $10,000 respectively.

Both camps will undoubtedly be making a push to win over undecided voters in the remaining days before the election. Even with the recent surge of support for Proposition 34, 17%--nearly one in five voters--remain on the fence, according the Field Poll.

Tags:

Death Penalty, Election 2012, Proposition 34

We Recommend

procapitalpunish

A jury of 12 people & a judge confirmed for each inmate that their crimes were so atrocious and they were so dangerous that they not only did not deserve to live, but they were so dangerous that the only safe recourse was the death penalty. Recognizing how dangerous these killers are, the prison houses them 1 person to a cell and does not provide them with work, leaving them locked in their cells most of the day. Prop. 34 wants to ignore all of this and save $ by placing these killers in less-restrictive prisons where they share cells. They also want to provide them opportunities for work, where they have more freedom, access to other inmates and guards, & more chances to make weapons. Prop. 34 also destroys any incentive for the 34,000 inmates already serving life without parole to kill again. There would be no death penalty. They are already serving a life sentence, so why not get a name by killing another inmate or a guard? Prop. 34 also takes away the money for inmates to challenge their convictions. If innocent, they will spend the rest of their life in jail, celled with vicious killers. Prop. 34 will cause more deaths of innocent people– guards and people wrongfully convicted but no longer able to fight it in court. And they refer to Prop. 34 as the SAFE Act!

dudleysharp

TRUTH AND PROP. 34? ONLY IF YOU WANT IT DEFEATED

Dudley Sharp

An honest discussion about Prop 34 would result in its overwhelming defeat.

COSTS

Are the cost claims made by the pro Prop 34 folks accurate? Maybe not (1). The ACLU cost review was easily destroyed (1) and Mitchell and Alarcon, of the $4 billion study infamy, refuse to share their database (1), which we can presume has problems and, therefore, no one can, responsibly, depend upon that review.

Is it possibly that life without parole (LWOP) may cost more than the death penalty? Yes (1).

Is it required that California citizens allow their representatives to be so irresponsible with both their state budget and death penalty management? Of course not. Virginia has executed 75% of those sentenced to death and has done so within 7.1 years, on average.

All states, inclusive of California, could implement similar protocols and save money over LWOP.

INNOCENTS MORE PROTECTED WITH THE DEATH PENALTY

Is it true that innocents are better protected by a death penalty protocol? Yes, in three different ways (2). Innocents are more at risk without the death penalty (2).

PROP. 34: UNPRINCIPLED?

Ask the media (or insert any industry) this question. How principled are you?

If you had a group of corrupt people, who only wanted to shut down the media (or anyother industry) , by sabotaging the media, would you say, OK, shut down all media?

Or would you say, let's clean it up, get you bad folks out of the picture, and make it work?

A vote for Prop 34 is a vote for folks who have intentionally obstructed justice in these cases, meaning anti death penalty legislators, the defense bar and judges who have made the death penalty so irresponsible and who are the same folks telling us to reward them by giving them what they have been working for, based upon the horrible system they have engineered.

A better idea.

How about demanding a responsible system, such as Virginia's, whereby 75% of those sentenced to death have been executed within 7.1 years, on average - a system similar to what Ca should have, if responsible folks were in charge.

Calif has executed 1.4% of those sentenced because such mismanagement is what such obstructionists (read Prop 34) had in mind.

95% OF MURDER VICITMS' LOVED ONES SUPPORT DEATH PENALTY: ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE (3)

In addition, 80% of US folks support the death penalty for, truly, "death penalty eligible" murders (3), just as from 56% to 83% have also supported the death penalty when, wrongly, asked about their approval for the death penalty for murders, for which about 90% are not death penalty eligible (3).

1) California Death Penalty Cost "Studies" http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2012/08/response-to-absurd-california-death.html

2) a) The Death Penalty: Saving More Innocent Lives

http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2012/03/death-penalty-saving-more-innocent.html

b) Innocents More At Risk Without Death Penalty

http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2012/03/innocents-more-at-risk-without-death.html

3) US Death Penalty Support at 80%; World Support Remains High 'http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2012/04/us-death-penalty-support-at-80-world.html