Community Pulse: Do you support state Prop 34?

Do you support state Proposition 34 on the November ballot, which would abolish the death penalty in California and replace it with life in prison without parole?

• Yes. Not because I am opposed to the severity of the penalty but because of its lack of enforcement. The law is a joke and a waste of taxes. There are over 700 inmates currently on Death Row in California with only 13 being put to death since the death penalty was enacted in 1972. California stands to save over $100 million annually by eliminating the death penalty. Three Strikes should be next on the chopping block!

• Support. The death penalty has been on hold in California for over six years as it was deemed cruel and unusual.  The cost of appeals was always exorbitant, as long as they are in prison for life, I am good with repealing the law.

• No, the death penalty needs to stay in California but we must decide on an appropriate method that will not be challenged in the courts, and we must expedite the process.

• No. The prisons are already at capacity. And this takes more money from the tax payers.

• NO!! I am not in favor of abolishing the death penalty.  Victims of violent crimes are given no mercy, no stay of execution and they deserve justice.  Murders, rapists and kidnappers deserve to be executed if it is proven without a shadow of a doubt that they are perpetrators of these crimes.  It is my personal belief, no matter that I am a liberal Democrat, that the death penalty is a deterrent to some would-be murderers.

• Yes. I used to think I was for capital punishment because I couldn’t support funding lifetime incarceration. Now that I understand it is cheaper to pursue life without parole, over the cost of capital punishment, I support Prop 34. More importantly though, I hope that the criminal will use this time to reconcile and repent. I do know that is naive thinking in many cases, unfortunately.

• No, I do not support Prop 34. I believe if someone is found guilty of a crime deserving the death penalty, they shouldn’t be allowed to live off of tax payers money for the rest of their lives.

• Yes. I do support the repeal. I continue to be pro death penalty, but in the state of CA it is more like punishing the family and friends of the victims by having endless appeals for the convicted criminal. Eliminating the death penalty and changing it to Life without Parol will save the state billions of dollars between now and 2030 according to one report. We have spent over $4,000,000,000.00 on appeal after appeal and lined the pockets of attorneys that know the state pays for all appeals. By 2030 we shall spend another 5 billion dollars repeating this process. While Life without Parol may not give the family and friends closure it will help reduce spending in a state that continues to find reasons to keep condemned killers alive.