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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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