Gov. Newsom signs executive order halting executions
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order putting a moratorium on executions in the most populous state in America.
Newsom signed the order Wednesday granting a reprieve to the state’s 737 death row inmates for as long as the Democrat is governor. It doesn’t change any convictions or sentences and won’t allow anyone to be released from prison.
District Attorneys across the state are reacting to the Governor’s decision. Santa Barbara County D.A. Joyce Dudley issued this statement to NewsChannel 3: “It is within the Governors purview to decide to no longer sign death warrants and still within my purview to decide when to change Special Circumstance Murder charges where the Defendant is death eligible.”
San Luis Opispo County District Attorney D.A. issued this statement: “Governor Newsom is unilaterally refusing to enforce the will of the People of California. The death penalty is only reserved for the worst of the worst.”
Dow added that San Luis Obispo County has three convicted murdered currently sitting on death row.
Newsom says his views on the death penalty were shaped 40 years ago through his grandfather’s and father’s advocacy on behalf of a wrongfully convicted man.
His order also repeals California’s lethal injection protocols and closes the state’s never-before-used death chamber at a state prison. California hasn’t executed anyone since 2006.
President Donald Trump says Newsom is “defying voters.” California voters narrowly approved a ballot measure to speed up executions in 2016.
On Wednesday, the Governor shared images of the death chamber at San Quentin State Prison being dismantled, with equipment used for executiong being moved out.
12:45pm: The death chamber at San Quentin. Closed. pic.twitter.com/0zK4UUItBG
— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) March 13, 2019
