Jerry Brown

As the California Democratic Party Convention Begins, What of the Death Penalty?

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Well, the California Democratic Party Convention is set to begin in a few hours, and I am just shoving the last of my items into my bag as I get ready to head to Sacramento.  For the most part, the convention will be fairly unified.  Democrats are thankful for their electoral success in 2010’s elections, but what issues might arise?  Well, there’s always the budget, but there is one other issue rearing its head as we head into it.

A new David Binder Research poll is showing that a strong majority of voters now supports converting all of our death penalty sentences to life without the possibility of parole (LWOP):

A recent statewide survey of 800 high propensity voters conducted by David Binder Research showed a strong  63% support for converting all current death row sentences to life imprisonment without any possibility of parole  in order to save the state $1 billion dollars in five years, where the money saved would be required to pay for  public education and law enforcement. Notably, support for this idea to convert all of the death row sentences to save the state a billion dollars over five years receives support from all political parties and from across all regions of the state. This idea appears to be the type of solution voters are looking for politicians to develop, but this idea in particular is one that political figures have so far overlooked.  

This is likely to come up throughout the convention, but not likely from the podium.  However, grassroots support for a signal of agreement with this poll has been bouncing around over the last few days and weeks. I’m interested to see where the question goes from here.

I’ll be focusing much of my communications on Twitter, check my Twitter feed here.

UPDATE: On a somewhat related note, Governor Brown is actually letting the parole board do its job rather than what Govs. Davis and Schwarzenegger did by blocking pretty much every parole.  We can’t really begin to address the prison mess without prioritizing for dangers criminals.

2 thoughts on “As the California Democratic Party Convention Begins, What of the Death Penalty?”

  1. Here’s my press release:

    Winograd Backs Progressive Caucus Anti-Death Penalty Resolution

    at State Democratic Party Convention this Weekend; Challenges

    Hahn and Bowen to Drop Support for Capital Punishment

    SACRAMENTO – Congressional Candidate (CA36) Marcy Winograd released a statement today wishing her Progressive Caucus colleagues attending the California Democratic Party convention this weekend success in passing a resolution to abolish the Death Penalty and replace it with life imprisonment.

    Winograd – who will be staying home in her district talking to voters this weekend – urged  her Democratic Party opponents in the May 17 special election, Janice Hahn and Debra Bowen, to drop their support for the Death Penalty and join her in endorsing the resolution.

    Said Winograd: “If we value our Constitution, we must oppose the Death Penalty as cruel and unusual punishment.  I ask my opponents to review the Bill of Rights and take seriously the 8th amendment. Proponents of the Death Penalty claim it is a deterrent, but all the research suggests otherwise.

    “Additionally, the Death Penalty can end the lives of innocent people — and, lastly, cost our state prohibitive amounts of money,” Winograd said.

    Winograd will discuss her platform, which includes abolition of the Death Penalty, when she meets voters at farmers markets throughout the 36th district this weekend.

    Winograd, a champion of the peace movement who has received major endorsements from Ed Asner, Ron Kovic, Dolores Huerta and other anti-war advocates, mobilized 41 percent of the Democratic primary vote when she challenged incumbent Jane Harman last June.

    Marcy Winograd

    Democratic Candidate for California’s 36th Congressional District

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