California has 564 inmates under death sentences — and gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra is weighing in on the state’s death penalty after Tennessee’s botched execution of Christa Pike.
asserted
Becerra → have → Pike
Notorious criminals such as Scott Peterson — convicted in 2004 of killing his wife, Laci Peterson, who was eight months pregnant — and serial killer Charles Ng, who was convicted of 11 first-degree murders, were among the condemned in the Golden State.
Peterson, however, had his death sentence overturned in 2020 and was resentenced to life without parole.
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sentence → convict → parole
Scrutiny on the death penalty resurfaced after Pike’s scheduled execution went horribly wrong Wednesday.
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execution → resurface → penalty
She was rushed to the hospital after the Tennessee Department of Corrections administered two doses of the highly potent sedative, Pentobarbital, but it failed to kill her.
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it → rush → her
“Christa is critically ill but not in a coma as I understand it,” her lawyer told TMZ, adding she was still unconscious as of Thursday afternoon.
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she → understand → afternoon
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 torture and murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, whom she beat, slashed and bludgeoned to death in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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she → sentence → Knoxville
When asked about his stance on the death penalty following the Pike debacle, a Becerra campaign spokesperson referred the California Post Thursday to a tweet from May where he praised Gov. Gavin Newsom’s moratorium on executions.
uncertain
he → ask → executions
“Governor Newsom’s death penalty moratorium represented an important step toward a more just criminal justice system,” the candidate said.
“As Governor, I will extend California’s moratorium on executions and continue moving our state away from a costly, flawed system that disproportionately impacts Black and brown communities and too often gets it wrong.”
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it → represent → communities
California has not carried out an execution since 2006, even though it houses the nation’s largest death row population.
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it → carry → population
Newsom put a moratorium on executions in 2019.
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Newsom → put → 2019
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Newsom’s office reiterated its death policy stance after the Pike situation in an email to The Post.
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office → download → Post
The governor criticized the death penalty as discriminatory and money-wasting when he signed the executive order pausing executions.
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he → criticize → executions
“Governor Newsom has been clear about his position on the death penalty since his first year in office, when he ordered a moratorium on executions,” his office said.
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office → order → executions
Becerra’s Republican Steve Hilton, said that while he’s personally against the death penalty, he would not extend the moratorium after voters previously showed favor for the death penalty.
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voters → say → penalty
California voters voted against Proposition 62, which sought to abolish the death penalty in November 2016.
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which → vote → November
Instead, they approved Proposition 66, which was meant to speed up the execution process.
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which → approve → process
“I don’t think it’s OK for a governor to just substitute their personal opinion on an issue where the voters had an explicit and direct say,” Hilton told the Los Angeles Times.
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Hilton → think → Times
Despite the moratorium, prosecutors in California are still able to seek the death penalty.
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prosecutors → seek → penalty
More than 200 people have received a death sentence in California since the last execution in 2006, CalMatters reported.
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CalMatters → receive → 2006
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