Taxpayer coalition launches effort to replace California death penalty
Signature-gathering begins for initiative to end costly, dysfunctional, ineffective system
SACRAMENTO – Dec. 14, 2015 – Taxpayers for Sentencing Reform, a coalition that includes conservatives, liberals, law enforcement, religious leaders, and victims’ families, announced today that it is collecting signatures for a November 2016 ballot initiative to end the state’s dysfunctional and costly death penalty system.
The Justice That Works Act of 2016 would ensure that perpetrators of heinous crimes can be sentenced to life-in-prison-without-the-possibility-of-parole, with a provision that requires them to work in prison and forward most of the wages to the families of victims. Last month, California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office and the Office of the Attorney General declared that the initiative would save the state $150 million a year by replacing the death penalty with life without the possibility of parole. Continue reading