Earlier this month, Governor Gavin Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions of death row inmates. His executive action is opposed by the San Bernardino County District Attorney, Jason Anderson. Anderson said in a statement, “There have been at least four times in the recent history of California when the people of California could have voted to abolish the death penalty through the initiative process” and they did not. Newsom, he said, “has a duty to uphold the law, including California’s death penalty statutes which voters have upheld since at least 1978.
“In 1776, Founding Father Thomas Paine wrote of the supremacy of law over the whims of individuals in a free society. We have come to think of the rule of law as the utmost of guiding principles in shaping a just government for all. That rule of law, and the balance it creates through our three branches of government, gives the people the final voice of authority in determining the laws by which we all must live.
“Article II, Section I, of the California Constitution states, ‘All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for their protection, security, and benefit, and they have the right to alter or reform it when the public good may require.’ Article V, Section I states, ‘The supreme executive power of this State is vested in the Governor. The Governor shall see that the law is faithfully executed.’
“There have been at least four times in the recent history of California when the people of California could have voted to abolish the death penalty through the initiative process. They did not. Proposition 17 and Proposition 66, each passed by the people, authorized the death penalty in California. Propositions 34 and 62, both attempts to abolish the death penalty, were defeated. Additionally, three California Supreme Court justices were removed by the people of California because of the justices’ categorical opposition to the rule of law in California as it related to the death penalty.
“The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office opposes Governor Gavin Newsom’s announced moratorium on California’s death penalty. We are certain that the governor is fundamentally and fervently opposed to the death penalty. That is his right. Despite his personal beliefs, Governor Newsom has a duty to uphold the law, including California’s death penalty statutes which voters have upheld since at least 1978.
“The problem with the moratorium is that the people in California have made a reasonable and analytical case in favor of the death penalty and the death penalty is the law in California. The rule of law gives the people notice, consistency, and reliance upon that which we can and cannot do in society. The rule of law provides expectations, due process and finality when it comes to our justice system.
“The people who rely upon the rule of law includes the families and loved ones of murder victims. They have relied upon a death sentence imposed by jurors in a criminal case. To them, the rule of law becomes meaningless when a unilateral decision by the governor removes that which the families have relied upon for decades for closure and some measure of justice.
“We are certain that the families of Christopher Hughes, and Douglas, Peggy and Jessica Ryen, which includes surviving victim Josh Ryen, who survived the massacre, all murdered by death row inmate Kevin Cooper, fundamentally and fervently believe in the death penalty. It remains the one precept to which they can still point in the belief that, as it remains the law repeatedly upheld by the people of California, a just outcome might be reached after decades of due process. They and countless other victims’ family members have waited for decades through the extensive review process these cases receive from the State and Federal Courts. Unfortunately, the Hughes and Ryen families’ faith in the law, as well as the faith of the numerous families victimized by the 734 other killers on death row, is only eroded when they find out about the moratorium from a radio news station and not from the Governor’s Office.
“The governor’s fiat on the death penalty does not respect the initiative decisions of the people of California or the rule of law. We all, prosecutors, victims, law enforcement, defense attorneys and defendants, rely upon that rule of law to give notice, meaning and justice to our society. That is why our office opposes the moratorium.”
