California is one of thirty-one states with the death penalty.
Few topics are as controversial or divisive in American politics as the death penalty. While many believe that capital punishment is necessary in order to prevent people from committing serious crimes, others believe that the government should never take a life — and that the risk of error is too high to justify the process.
Wherever you fall on the debate about the death penalty, it is currently legal in the state of California. However, compared to many other states, California has relatively few executions, particularly given its high population and large size. Since 1976, California has executed just 13 prisoners. There are currently 746 people on death row in the state of California, including 22 women.
It may not surprise many people that the death penalty is most frequently used in the South, with a total of 1,195 executions between 1976 and 2017. In that same time frame, there were 181 executions in the Midwest region, 85 in the West (where California sits), and just 4 in the Northeast. Texas executes the most prisoners by far, with 545 executions in this 41 year period. California sits on the lower end of states in terms of total executions, with just 13 since 1976, the last one occurring in 2006. However, 4 states — Colorado, Connecticut, New Mexico and Wyoming — have only executed a single prisoner since 1976. The top three states for executions — Texas (545), Virginia (113), and Oklahoma (112) executed more people (770) in this time frame than the remaining 28 states combined (695). This leads to the question of whether there is more crime being committed in these states — or if lawmakers, prosecutors and juries are simply more willing to sentence defendants in criminal cases to death for certain crimes.
In California, there are a number of crimes that can lead to a person being sentenced to death. These are known as capital crimes, according to a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney. They include first degree murder with special circumstances, sabotage, train wreck causing death, treason, perjury causing execution of an innocent person and fatal assault by a prisoner serving a life sentence. California also has the option of life without the possibility of parole for many serious crimes, which some believe is also a suitable deterrent for these types of crimes.
The death penalty is a complicated topic, and one that we, as experienced Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys, intend to explore over the coming weeks and months. While opinions may vary as to what should be done in the case of unrepentant killers or those who repeatedly violate the law and hurt other people, we should all be aware of the facts, statistics and laws surrounding the use of capital punishment in California and beyond. Stay tuned to our “Death Penalty Series” to learn more about this important issue.
If you have been charged with a serious crime, the Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys of the Chambers Law Firm can help. We will work with you to present a strong defense to the charges, and will stand by your side, giving you peace of mind in knowing that you will be well-represented throughout the process. Contact us today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free initial consultation.
