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Page 8 The Skanner October 12, 2016 News Repeal or Reform? Death Penalty Voter Decisions for 3 States California, Nebraska, Oklahoma will all face ballot measures on capital punishment this fall “If it can happen to an honorably discharged Marine with no criminal record or criminal histo- ry, it can happen to any- body in America,” Blood- sworth said. In the unlikely event both competing mea- sures cross the 50 per- cent threshold, the one with the most “yes” votes would take efect. If nei- ther passes, the current system would remain. LOS ANGELES (AP) — California’s dysfunction- al death penalty faces a fate in November that seems itting: voters can put it out of its misery, or ix it so it does what it promises. The state is among three where vot- ers will make decisions on capital punishment. California’s ballot ini- tiatives — one would re- peal capital punishment, the other would speed up appeals so convicted murderers are actually executed — are fueled by those who agree only that the current system is broken, leaving mur- der victims’ kin grieving and the condemned lan- guishing on death row. Voters in Nebraska will be asked whether they want to reinstate the death penalty and Okla- homa residents will de- cide whether to make it harder to abolish it. In California, more than 900 convicted mur- derers have been sent to death row since 1978 — but only 13 have been ex- ecuted in the state. Many more have died of nat- ural causes and no one has been put to death in more than a decade ater a judge ordered an over- haul to the state’s lethal injection procedure. Executions have mostly been in decline since the turn of the century and last year reached their AP PHOTO/MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ, FILE By Brian Melley Associated Press In this Dec. 13, 2005 ile photo, anti-death penalty demonstrators protest outside San Quentin State Prison in San Quention, Calif., during the execution of Stanley “Tookie” Williams, the founder of the Crips gang. California voters face opposite choices to ix the state’s broken death penalty. They can repeal capital punishment in November 2016 or reform it so that convicted murderers are actually executed. lowest level in 25 years, with 28 prisoners killed. Capital punishment has been either legislatively or judicially repealed in eight states since 2000, according to Robert Dun- ham, executive director of the Death Penalty In- formation Center. CALIFORNIA: ABOLISH The referendum to re- peal California’s death penalty and replace it with life in prison with- out parole is a repeat of a 2012 ballot measure that failed 52 percent to 48 percent. Only voters in Arizona and twice in Or- egon have repealed the death penalty and both states later reversed course to reinstate it. The California repeal efort is supported by de- fense lawyers plus lumi- naries including former President Jimmy Carter, Netlix CEO Reed Hast- ings and hedge fund bil- lionaire Tom Steyer. Proponents of Prop- osition 62 argue elimi- nating it it would save California $150 million a year, mostly in reduced legal fees plus cheaper prison costs since death row inmates who get single cells could be dou- ble-bunked. California’s inance director has es- timated the proposed reforms to speed up the death penalty could save the state $30 million an- nually. They also point to wrongful convictions. Kirk Bloodsworth, who spent nearly nine years in a Maryland prison for the sexual assault and bludgeoning death “ of a 9-year-old girl in Maryland, was the irst condemned inmate in the United States freed because of DNA results in 1993. Another man lat- er pleaded guilty to the murder. It is our primary goal as a labor union to better the lives of all people working in the building trades through advocacy, civil demonstration, and the long-held belief that workers deserve a “family wage” - fair pay for an honest day’s work. A family wage, and the beneits that go with it, not only strengthens families, but also allows our communities to become stronger, more cohesive, and more responsive to their citizens’ needs. Our family wage agenda relects our commitment to people working in the building trades, and to workers everywhere. In this small way, we are doing our part to help people achieve the American Dream. This dream that workers can hold dear regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, creed, or religious beliefs. Representing more than 5,000 construction workers in Oregon State. NEBRASKA: REINSTATE Lawmakers in Nebras- ka abolished the death penalty last year and vot- ers there are being asked whether it should be re- instated. Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts, who helped i- nance the ballot drive with $200,000 of his own money, insists lawmak- ers were out of touch with their constituents when they got rid of capi- tal punishment. Death penalty oppo- nents have appealed to the state’s conservative ideals, arguing the pun- ishment is expensive and ineicient because no one has been executed in Nebraska since 1997. Last month, Catholic leaders launched a state- wide campaign urging voters not to reinstate the punishment and promised to raise the is- ‘If it can happen to an honorably discharged Marine with no criminal record or criminal history, it can happen to anybody in America’ We honor the many accomplishments of African Americans. Paciic Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters CALIFORNIA: SPEED UP California’s prosecu- tors and law enforce- ment are leading the opposing measure to “mend, not end” capital punishment. They say Proposition 66 will begin to clear the legal bottle- neck blocking the path to the death chamber at San Quentin State Prison. “It shouldn’t take de- cades upon decades,” said Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, who helped drat the initiative. “I’m not a rabid dog about the death penalty, but I think said. “I’d like to see the last breath that Rhoades takes. I really would. I think that’s what Michael had to endure.” Do you want to know more about becoming a Union carpenter? Go to www.NWCarpenters.org PORTLAND: 1636 East Burnside, Portland, OR 97214 | 503.261.1862 | 800.974.9052 HEADQUARTERS: 25120 Paciic Hwy S, Ste 200, Kent, WA 98032 | 253.954.8800 | 800.573.8333 it should be an option in the rarest of the most hei- nous cases that exist in our society.” The reformers want to trim state appeals of death sentences to ive years, assigning some to trial judges and expand- ing the pool of lawyers taking cases. It would have no control over fed- eral appeals. Those seeking to abol- ish the death penalty say the reforms will result in incompetent lawyers be- ing assigned appeals and forced to meet arbitrary deadlines that will over- whelm already strained trial courts. Death penalty sup- porters point to heinous crimes and the grieving family members of vic- tims who have long wait- ed for justice. Sandy Friend’s 8-year- old son, Michael Lyons, was kidnapped, stabbed 70 to 80 times with a knife and bludgeoned 20 years ago in Northern Califor- nia. Robert Rhoades, the barber who murdered him, was also convicted of murdering and raping a young woman and sen- tenced to death for both. “Robert Rhoades is just the poster child for the death penalty and there are people who are worse than him. These people are monsters,” Friend sue in church services before the election. There are 10 prisoners on death row in Nebras- ka. The state’s last execu- tion was in 1997. OKLAHOMA: KEEP IT AROUND Voters in Oklahoma, where executions are on hold ater mistakes in the past two executions, will consider enshrining the death penalty in the state constitution, making it harder for legislators or courts to end it. “There are people that are trying to remove the death penalty from be- ing used,” said state Rep. Lewis Moore, R-Arcadia, one of the measure’s au- thors. “We wanted that to continue to be a viable alternative.” Among other things, the initiative declares that all death penalty statutes are in efect, that the methods of execution can be changed and that “the death penalty is not cruel and unusual pun- ishment.” Oklahoma has 48 pris- oners on death row. Its most recent execution was last year. Associated Press writers David Crary in New York, Grant Schulte in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Tim Talley in Oklahoma City contrib- uted to this report.