Letters to the editor
End death penalty now
Re “Will new lethal injections restart state executions?” (Page 1A, Nov. 7): There are moral arguments on both sides of the capital punishment debate. But there is no compelling necessity whatsoever to execute a prisoner who is immobilized in a top security institution serving life without the possibility of parole.
If Gov. Jerry Brown merely commuted all 747 of California’s death sentences tomorrow, he would save the state a fortune, free our overworked courts to address long-neglected issues, and eliminate the frightening prospect of executing an innocent human being.
We should join the rest of the civilized world and evolve on this issue quickly.
John Adkisson, Sacramento
Defense attorneys are to blame
The reason the death penalty does not work is it is all about money. Greedy, unscrupulous defense attorneys milk the system filing frivolous appeals one after the other for convicted murderers who should have been executed decades ago.
Unless one can show that there was perjured testimony or irrefutable evidence that exonerates the murderer, the convicted should be subjected to a speedy execution. It is laughable when anti-death penalty proponents claim that it would save taxpayers money when a killer receives a life sentence instead of being executed. It is a lot cheaper to hang or inject them than to warehouse them for 40 years.
End the unending appeals. The victims had no appeals on their life.
James Darrell Reeves, Carmichael
Lethal drugs are readily available
The issue of drugs allowed for assisted suicide is legally settled in Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Montana and New Mexico, as well as in other countries. California joined this list with a law signed in October.
Why then is California still working on the issue of drugs used for lethal injections for capital punishment? What is good for those agreeing to assisted suicide must be good enough for convicted murderers.
Dean Dal Ben, Sacramento
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This story was originally published November 9, 2015 at 4:01 PM with the headline "Letters to the editor."