CAPITAL PUNISHMENT -- NOPE

This is my response to my California state assembly man who is in favor of keeping the death penalty in California.  He sent me [his office sent me] an email telling me to support his position in favor if the death penalty.  This is his email followed by my response to him.

Dear Mr. Dion:

SB 490 seeks to amend and revoke the death penalty law by replacing it with permanent imprisonment.  This bill would have a retroactive effect, undermining the integrity of the original court’s/jury’s sentence.  The bill would resentence death row inmates’ sentences automatically, which is of dubious constitutionality.  In addition, the agreement that innocent persons are currently on California’s death is without statistical backing.  According to the Department of Justice, “no reversal of a capital case in California has been based on actual innocence.” 

For the above reason I am opposed to SB 490.�  Currently SB 490 is being held in the Appropriations Committee. While we may disagree on this issue, I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

Again, I appreciate your concern.  Should you be interested in keeping up on developments in the State Capitol and around the 64^th District, I invite you to visit my website at www.assembly.ca.gov/64 where you may sign up to receive my monthly newsletter.

It is an honor to serve you in the California State Assembly.

Sincerely,

BRIAN NESTANDE

Assemblyman, 64^th District

---    My response:

Paul Dion	2:14 PM (1 minute ago)
to Assemblymember.

Mr. Nestand:

My opposition to the death penalty goes beyond and deeper than the killing of innocent, erroneously convicted prisoners.  It goes to the culture of vengeance and retribution by law that it instills in the population.  Murder outside the law is not corrected by vengeful murder by law, from within the law carried out by the state.  

That is my position and I'm not changing it for anybody.

Some time back I wrote an article about this very question.  Click here to refresh your memory.