The people of California have made it clear via the ballot box, we want the death penalty. The Hollywood Slicky Governor has decided to tell Californians he is boss, not them.
“Judge Thomas C. Hastings in formally sentenced Richard Allen Davis to death in 1996 remarked, “Mr. Davis, this is always a traumatic and emotional decision for a judge. You made it very easy today by your conduct.
Despite the magnitude and the cruelty imparted by Mr. Davis, as of today, Davis remains on California’s death row in the Adjustment Center at San Quentin State Prison.
It was unanimously agreed by a jury over 25 years ago to put the killer of Polly Klaus to death. In spite of the long duration in time, attorneys paid by the State of California are still working on behalf of this heartless killer to prevent his execution.”
Sadly, there is no punishment for Governors that refuse to obey the law.
Death penalty controversy rages on by Richard Eber
Richard Eber, Exclusive to the California Political News and Views 1/4/23
Judge Thomas C. Hastings in formally sentenced Richard Allen Davis to death in 1996 remarked, “Mr. Davis, this is always a traumatic and emotional decision for a judge. You made it very easy today by your conduct.
Despite the magnitude and the cruelty imparted by Mr. Davis, as of today, Davis remains on California’s death row in the Adjustment Center at San Quentin State Prison.
It was unanimously agreed by a jury over 25 years ago to put the killer of Polly Klaus to death. In spite of the long duration in time, attorneys paid by the State of California are still working on behalf of this heartless killer to prevent his execution.
On June 1, 2009, the California Supreme Court upheld Davis’ death sentence. Davis had argued that his jailhouse confession was inadmissible because it was given without an attorney present. The court easily tossed out this motion citing the public safety exception to Miranda v. Arizona.
His lawyer, Phillip Cherney, told reporters he intended to ask for a rehearing and that he would be lodging a habeas corpus appeal with state and federal courts.
And so it goes for Mr. Davis and 693 others on California’s so called death row
Ironically, Davis has unsuccessfully tried to do the job of executing himself. Since then he has been on suicide watch to prevent a reoccurrence of his previous efforts.
The last person actually put to death was Clarence Ray Allen back in 1976. Even then, it took over 30 years for this multi-murderer to receive a lethal injection at age 76.
This sad record of judicial overreach has ended up changing my mind on the implementation of the death penalty. Over the years it has proven too costly for tax payers for justice to be properly served. Rather than wasting money on attorney fees for endless appeals, I would prefer to use these resources to assist homicide victims families.
How can anyone argue for the death penalty when those assigned to death row would qualify for a pension should they have worked in private enterprise?
Even my friend Jo Ann, who as a deputy public defender in Alameda County, defended some of these creeps, agrees special circumstances killers should never walk the streets again. On the other hand she vehemently opposes the death penalty. Over the years she has utilized every resource at her disposal to block Capital Punishment.
While I defend Jo Ann’s courage and integrity, the end results of her actions do not benefit society. In 2023 we come to realize:
- Progressive politicians, who vehemently oppose the death penalty, prefer to commute them rather than put this question up for voters to decide.
- Because this is a controversial issue, most legislatures prefer not to change the law as there is so much polarization involved with this issue.
- Most Governors when receiving a last appeal from an individual to be executed, lack the courage to carry it out
With endless Catch-22 blockages in place in capital punishment world, major changes need to be implemented in the future. Either it should be abolished or administered in a way that is fair to all sides of the equation.
My idea is to change the appeals process. It would seem 10 years after sentencing would be a fair amount of time to determine if there was poor legal representation, a bad child hood, an error in jury selection, seeking new DNA evidence, errors made by the Judge Etc.
Such a timetable would encourage appeals council to put together their complaints in a package to be heard as there is a time limit on presenting new evidence to justify a rehearing of the case.
This system would discourage new lawyers appealing a death sentence ruling each time the court rejects their arguments. Such a process results in years of delays as each motion is heard separately. It can be argued defense attorney’s use the current system to make sure it takes years to hear one frivolous argument after another.
Judging from the results, American barrister’s strategy has been most successful. In 2022 there were only 18 death row inmates who were executed in the entire United States. All of this activity occurred in Oklahoma and selected Southern states. On average it took over 29 years from when someone was murdered until the perpetrator paid the ultimate price.
So much for the argument the death penalty prevents capital crimes from being committed.
This is why the Richard Allen Davis’s of the penal system literally rot in prison rather than face the ultimate punishment they deserve. It can be reasonably argued “Tiny” and his skinhead buddy “Butterball” from the Aryan Nation do a better job administering the death penalty than the state of California.
This is why our country needs to determine if they desire to continue the present system or replace it with a less time consuming and costly system to deal with those who willfully take human life.
California Governor Gavin Newsom recently summarized the Progressive viewpoint when he said when commuting the sentences of all death row inmates “It has discriminated against defendants who are mentally ill, black and brown, or can’t afford expensive legal representation. It has provided no public safety benefit or value as a deterrent. It has wasted billions of taxpayer dollars. Most of all, the death penalty is absolute. It’s irreversible and irreparable in the event of human error.”
Apparently, Newsom lacks faith in jury’s to decide such important matters.
This is all well and good but what about victims of crime and the desires of voters who should be calling the shots on this matter? Don’t their opinions count as well?
