California Resentences 15 Condemned Prisoners to Life Without Parole
On April 5, 2024, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said that 15 prisoners on California’s death row from the county would be resentenced to life without parole. Rosen utilized a state law empowering district attorneys to reassess sentences deemed unjust, citing his loss of faith in capital punishment’s fairness and effectiveness as a deterrent.
When Gov. Gavin Newson (D) signed Executive Order N-09-19 in May 2019, extending a moratorium on state executions begun by predecessor Jerry Brown (D), he stopped the countdown to death for 737 prisoners on the nation’s largest death row. At the time, minorities accounted for more than six in 10 condemned state prisoners, proof that Newsom cited of racial disparities in death sentencing.
Agreed Rosen, “It’s an antiquated, racially biased, error-prone system that deters nothing and costs us millions of public dollars and our integrity as a community that cherishes justice.” But the prosecutor was careful to emphasize that the 15 prisoners would still spend their lives behind bars for the grave crimes they committed.
Nevertheless, his announcement was praised by death penalty opponents, including Diocese of San Jose Bishop Oscar Cantu and Equal Justice Initiative Executive Director Bryan Stevenson. The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation counted 641 prisoners currently held on the state’s death row, 35% Black and another 26% Hispanic or Mexican. The state carried out its last execution in 2006.
Sources: KPIX, Los Angeles Times
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login