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(CALIFORNIA GLOBE) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom defied the state’s voters within 6 weeks of being sworn in January 2019. He said during his campaign he would abide by the will of California voters who in 2016 rejected Proposition 66, a ballot initiative that would have repealed the death penalty, and instead voted to expedite the executions of the inmates currently sitting on death row. Newsom supported the initiative to repeal.
Gov. Newsom announced in March 2019 he was granting reprieves for all death penalty murderers on California’s death row, calling the death penalty “ineffective, irreversible and immoral.” He then signed an executive order putting a moratorium on the executions of the 737 inmates currently incarcerated on California’s death row.
With Newsom’s announcement a political friend said, “Another 737 just went down.”
“We cannot advance the death penalty in an effort to soften the blow of what happens to these victims,” Newsom said. “If someone kills, we do not kill. We’re better than that.”
The Globe reported that California voters have voted to uphold the death penalty eleven times since 1972. “The Governor’s decision to grant a blanket reprieve to prevent executions is an abuse of power and a slap in the face of the families of murder victims,” Criminal Justice Legal Foundation Legal Director Kent Scheidegger said at the time.
While initially Newsom’s current decision appears to be an abuse of power, Article V, Section 1 of the California Constitution gives the Governor supreme executive power.
“The supreme executive power of this State is vested in the Governor. The Governor shall see that the law is faithfully executed.”
However, it does say “The Governor shall see that the law is faithfully executed.” What about the will of the voters who voted to uphold the death penalty, and for expedited executions of those on death row? Is this abuse of executive authority?
