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History
Legal executions in California were
authorized under the Criminal Practices Act of 1851. On February 14,
1872, capital punishment was incorporated into the Penal Code, stating:
A judgment of death must be executed within the walls
or yard of a jail, or some convenient private place in the county. The
Sheriff of the county must be present at the execution, and must invite
the presence of a physician, the District Attorney of the county, and at
least twelve reputable citizens, to be selected by him; and he shall at
the request of the defendant, permit such ministers of the gospel, not
exceeding two, as the defendant may name, and any persons, relatives or
friends, not to exceed five, to be present at the execution, together
with such peace officers as he may think expedient, to witness the
execution. But no other persons than those mentioned in this section can
be present at the execution, nor can any person under age be allowed to
witness the same.
The various counties may have some
records of the executions conducted under the jurisdiction of the
counties, but the department knows of no compilation of these.
State Executions
Capital punishment on a county level
continued until an amendment by the Legislature in 1891 provided:
A judgment of death must be executed within the walls
of one of the State Prisons designated by the Court by which judgment is
rendered.
In this statute, the warden replaced
the sheriff as the person who must be present at the execution and
invitation to the attorney general, rather than to the district attorney,
was required.
Executions were conducted at both of
the California state prisons then existing—San Quentin and Folsom. There
apparently was no official rule by which judges ordered men hanged at
Folsom rather than San Quentin or vice versa. However, it was customary
to send recidivists to Folsom.
The first state-conducted execution
was held March 3, 1893 at San Quentin. The first execution at Folsom was
December 13, 1895.
Lethal Gas
In 1937, the Legislature provided
that lethal gas replace hanging, with August 27, 1937 as the effective
date. The law did not affect the execution method for those already
sentenced. As a result, the last execution by hanging at Folsom was
conducted December 3, 1937. The last execution by hanging at San Quentin
was held May 1, 1942; the defendant had been convicted of murder in 1936.
A total of 215 inmates were hanged
at San Quentin and a total of 92 were hanged at Folsom.
The only lethal gas chamber in the
state was constructed at San Quentin. The first execution by lethal gas
was conducted December 2, 1938. From that date through 1967 a total of
194 persons were executed by gas, all at San Quentin. This total includes
four (4) women.
Legal Challenges and Changes
For 25 years after 1967, there were
no executions in California due to various State and United States
Supreme Court decisions.
In 1972 the California Supreme Court
found that the death penalty constituted cruel and unusual punishment
under the state constitution. As a result, 107 individuals had their
sentences changed to other than death. In November 1972, nine months after
the decision, the California electorate amended the state constitution
and overruled the State Supreme Court.
In 1973 the United States Supreme
Court held that the death penalty was unconstitutional as it was being
administered at that time in a number of states.
California legislation was passed in
1973 which made the death penalty mandatory in certain cases under
certain conditions. Among these were kidnapping if the victim dies, train
wrecking if any person dies, assault by a life prisoner if the victim
dies within a year, treason against the state, and first degree murder
under specific conditions (for hire, of a peace officer, of a witness to
prevent testimony, if committed during a robbery or burglary, if
committed during course of a rape by force, if committed during
performance of lewd and lascivious acts upon children, by persons
previously convicted of murder).
In late 1976, the California Supreme
Court, basing its decision on a United States Supreme Court ruling
earlier that year, held that the California death penalty statute was
unconstitutional under the Federal Constitution because it did not allow
the defendant to present any evidence in mitigation. Following this
ruling, 70 inmates had their sentences changed to other than death.
Capital Punishment Reinstated
The California State Legislature
re-enacted the death penalty statute in 1977. Under the new statute,
evidence in mitigation was permitted.
The death penalty was reinstated as
a possible punishment for first degree murder under certain conditions.
These "special circumstances" include: murder for financial
gain, murder by a person previously convicted of murder, murder of
multiple victims, murder with torture, murder of a peace officer, murder
of a witness to prevent testimony and several other murders under
particular circumstances.
In 1977, the Penal Code also was
revised to include the sentence of life imprisonment without the
possibility of parole. At that time, the punishment for kidnapping for
ransom, extortion, or robbery was changed from death to life without
parole. Treason, train derailing or wrecking and securing the death of an
innocent person through perjury became punishable by death or life
imprisonment without parole.
Proposition 7, on the California
ballot in November 1978, superseded the 1977 statutes and is the death
penalty statute under which California currently operates.
Under state law, cases in which the
death penalty has been decreed are automatically reviewed by the State
Supreme Court. The Supreme Court may:
- Affirm the conviction and the death sentence;
- Affirm the conviction but reverse the death
sentence (which results in a retrial of the penalty phase only); or
- Reverse the conviction (which results in a
complete new trial).
Even if the California Supreme Court
affirms the death sentence, the inmate can initiate appeals on separate
constitutional issues. Called "writs of habeas corpus," these
appeals may be heard in both state and federal courts.
Although the death penalty was
reinstated in 1978, no executions were carried out in California until
April 1992 when Robert Alton Harris was put to death in the San Quentin
gas chamber. This was the first execution in more than 25 years.
Lethal Injection
In January 1993, a new law went into
effect allowing inmates to choose lethal injection or lethal gas as the
method of execution. In August 1993, condemned inmate David Mason was
executed after voluntarily waiving his federal appeals. Because Mason did
not choose a method of execution, he was put to death by lethal gas, as
the law then stipulated.
In October 1994, a U.S. District
Judge, Northern District (San Francisco) ruled that the gas chamber was
cruel and unusual punishment, barring the state from using that method of
execution. That ruling was upheld by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals in February, 1996.
That same year, the Penal Code was
modified to state that if either manner of execution is held invalid, the
punishment of death shall be imposed by the alternative means. The law
further stipulated that lethal injection become the "default"
method of execution should an inmate fail to choose. Serial killer
William Bonin was executed on February 23, 1996 by lethal injection, the
first California execution using that method.
EXECUTION COSTS
The cost of carrying out an
execution in California is difficult to assess. The average cost to house
an inmate is about $26,894 per year. Staff assigned to the execution team
receive their regular, budgeted salaries. The cost of the execution procedure,
including the chemicals utilized, is minimal.
The real cost involved in the
capital punishment procedure is related to the court reviews, both those
mandated by the Legislature as well as the appeal procedures initiated by
the convicted inmates’ legal staff. These costs vary depending upon the
resources of the convicted inmate and the length of the court procedures
involved.
INMATES ON CONDEMNED STATUS
All male prisoners on condemned
status are housed in a maximum security unit at San Quentin State Prison.
Females are housed in a maximum security unit at the Central California
Women’s Facility at Chowchilla. The number of condemned inmates has
increased steadily since 1978.
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Lethal Injection
Procedures
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When Execution
Order Is Received
As soon as the execution order
is received, the condemned inmate is moved into a special security
area of the prison. Based on hourly checks, staff document his/her
behavior and bring anything unusual to the warden’s attention.
The inmate receives priority
visiting privileges; no visitors are turned away without
authorization of the warden. Every effort is made to accommodate
visits by the inmate’s attorney including weekend or holiday visits
if necessary.
Pre-Execution Reports
Two reports are prepared within
three weeks of the established execution date. The first is 20 days before
execution; the second is seven days before execution. Each report
includes:
- Psychiatric report - Results and
interpretation of examinations, interviews and history of the
inmate by three psychiatrists which will be used to determine
the inmate’s sanity.
- Chaplain report - Comments on the inmate’s
spiritual and emotional well-being.
- Summary of behavior - Observations noted by
case worker and custody staff.
- Cover letter from warden - Includes
firsthand information from interviews, observations or communication
with the inmate and his/her family or friends.
The seven day pre-execution
report discusses any changes that have occurred since the first
report.
Sanity Review Requests
Within 30 to seven days before
the execution, the inmate’s attorney may submit current psychiatric
information that may have a bearing on the sanity of the condemned
inmate. This information will be provided to the panel of
psychiatrists to consider in completion of the pre-execution
psychiatric reports.
Last 24 Hours
During the day before the
execution, the warden will make special arrangements for visits by
approved family members, spiritual advisors, and friends.
About 6 p.m. the day before the
execution, the inmate will be moved to the death watch cell which is
adjacent to the execution chamber. From then on, a three-member staff
unit will provide a constant death watch.
Soon after he is rehoused, the
inmate will be served his last dinner meal. The prison makes every
effort to provide the meal requested by the inmate.
Between 7 and 10 p.m., the
inmate may be visited by the assigned state chaplain and the warden.
The inmate may read, watch television, or play the radio. He can
request special food items and coffee or soft drinks.
The family, spiritual advisors
and friends the inmate has selected as witnesses may arrive up to two
hours before the scheduled execution.
About 30 minutes before the
scheduled execution, the inmate is given a new pair of denim trousers
and blue work shirt to wear. He is escorted into the execution
chamber a few minutes before the appointed time and is strapped onto
a table. [The chairs previously used for lethal gas executions have
been removed.]
The inmate is connected to a
cardiac monitor which is connected to a printer outside the execution
chamber. An IV is started in two usable veins and a flow of normal
saline solution is administered at a slow rate. [One line is held in
reserve in case of a blockage or malfunction in the other.] The door
is closed. The warden issues the execution order.
The Execution
- 5.0 grams of sodium pentothal in 20-25 cc of
diluent
- 50 cc of pancuronium bromide
- 50 cc of potassium chloride
Each chemical is lethal in the
amounts administered.
At the warden’s signal, sodium
pentothal is administered, then the line is flushed with sterile
normal saline solution. This is followed by pancuronium bromide, a
saline flush, and finally, potassium chloride. As required by the
California Penal Code, a physician is present to declare when death
occurs.
After all witnesses have left,
the body is removed with dignity and care. Typically, the family
claims the body. If not, the State makes the arrangements.
Chamber Description
The California execution chamber
is a self-contained unit at San Quentin State Prison which includes:
- Witness area—Entered via a door to the
outside, the witness area has a view of the chamber through five
windows.
- Execution chamber—An octagonal vacuum
chamber, approximately 7-1/2 feet in diameter. It is entered
through a large oval door at the rear of the chamber.
- Anteroom—Contains three telephones. One is
kept open for use by the Governor; the other is for use by the
State Supreme Court and Attorney General’s Office; the third is
connected to the Warden's office. The lethal injections are
administered from the anteroom. The area also includes the
valves and immersion lever used for executions by lethal gas.
- Chemical room—Includes storage cabinets and
a work bench, plus the chemical mixing pots, pipes and valves
used for executions by lethal gas.
- Two holding cells—Each contains a toilet and
room for a mattress.
- Kitchen/officers’ area—Includes a sink,
cabinet, counter area and resting area for staff.
Witnesses
Up to 50 individuals may witness
an execution. The following are specified in the Penal Code:
Warden* 1
Attorney General 1
Reputable citizens 12
Physicians* 2
Inmate family/friends 5 (if requested)
Inmate spiritual advisor 2 (if requested)
State procedures also allow for:
News media representatives 17
State-selected witnesses 9
Staff escorts 4
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