Death Penalty in California
In 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-09-19, instituting a moratorium on the death penalty in California, halting any executions during his time in office.
However, the death penalty remains legal in California and continues to be imposed disproportionately on people of color, especially young people, and on people who have experienced poverty, childhood trauma, mental illness, or intellectual disability.
The Cost of California's Death Penalty
Seeking a death sentence creates a legal process that is significantly more expensive than seeking life without parole. The death penalty continues to be a financial burden to the legal system and taxpayers, even with a moratorium. The state continues to face issues related to lengthy appeals processes, the emergence of wrongful convictions, and challenges related to the methods of administering an execution.
UP TO
$1M
Additional
Cost
Cost
$500,000-$1,000,000 of additional cost to seek death penalty at trial.
235
Reversed Judgements
At least 235 people on California's death row have had judgment reversed.
$5B
Total
Spent
Spent
$5 Billion spent on 13 executions
since 1978.
ZERO
There is ZERO evidence the death penalty makes people safer
Race & Age Bias in Death Penalty Outcomes
California’s death penalty is imposed disproportionately on Black and Brown people and for the murder of White people:
60% less likely to get death penalty if victim is Black
People charged with killing white victims are 3x more likely to get death penalty.
7.8x more likely to get gang special circumstance if Latinx
Race/Ethnicity of People Under 21 Sentenced to Death in California 2006 to 2020
Mental Health Impacts and the Death Penalty
Many people on California’s Death Row have serious mental health impairments or intellectual disabilities.
At least 60 people have presented evidence of intellectual disability
A third of people on California's Death Row are diagnosed with serious mental illness.
At least 14 people have had death sentence removed due to intellectual disability
MANY
people on death row were victims of extreme physical and sexual abuse as children.