Murderers are more likely to be sentenced to death in conservative California counties, particularly in the southern part of the state, according to a Bee analysis of recent data from the state attorney general's office.
From 1998 to 2007, prosecutors obtained about one death penalty conviction for every 100 murders statewide, the figures show. In Orange County, the rate was twice as high; in Riverside County, it was three times as high.
At the same time, San Francisco and San Mateo counties haven't sentenced anyone to death in 15 years (with the exception of the Scott Peterson case transferred to San Mateo from Modesto.)
Overall, the five large California counties with the highest rate of registered Republicans sentenced murderers to death almost three times as frequently as the five counties with the lowest rate of Republicans.
There are major exceptions. Largely Republican Placer County hasn't issued the death penalty in 20 years while largely Democratic Alameda County condemns murderers somewhat frequently.
An interactive map showing rates for all counties is viewable at sacbee.com.
Debate about the death penalty has been stirred up again by state hearings on new protocols for lethal injection, the state's method of executing condemned criminals.
Most murders can be charged as death penalty crimes, said UCLA law professor Stuart Banner, so it often comes down to the preference – and politics – of a district attorney.
"District attorneys are elected," said Banner, author of "The Death Penalty: An American History." "The death penalty is more popular in some counties than in others."
The expense of capital cases also can deter prosecutors in both very small and very large counties, Banner added.
Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco, a former Republican assemblyman, noted that many convictions in the state's figures came or started under his predecessor's watch. His office now spends more time listening to law enforcement, victim's families and even defense attorneys before making a decision about whether to seek the death penalty, he said.
Nonetheless, noted UC Berkeley law professor Elisabeth Semel, Pacheco seems to have continued prosecuting death penalty cases at the same rate as his predecessor.
Pacheco said he did not know whether his approach had shifted the numbers, but noted that his constituency generally is tough on crime, as is he.
"The people here have a very different view of public safety than the people in San Francisco," Pacheco said.
Semel, a death penalty opponent and director of Boalt Hall's Death Penalty Clinic, said prosecutors like Pacheco could reverse the pro-death stance of their counties if they wanted.
"In some places," she said, "it will take a small measure of courage."
Call The Bee's Phillip Reese, (916) 321-1137.
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