California Death Penalty Ruled Unconstitutional by Federal Judge

California Death Penalty

On July 16, 2014, US District Judge Cormac J. Carney ruled that California’s death penalty violates the 8th amendment of the United States Constitution which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. The case was brought up on a petition made by death row inmate, Ernest Dewayne Jones who was sentenced to death nearly twenty years ago. Jones received the death penalty in 1995 for the 1992 rape and murder of his girlfriend, Julia Miller.
In his ruling, Carney stated that California’s death penalty has created long delays in executions resulting in uncertainty for inmates, most of who will realistically, never meet the needle. He wrote in his decision that the death penalty system in California has resulted in “an inordinate and unpredictable period of delay preceding [the inmates’] actual execution.”
California has sentenced over 900 prisoners to death since 1978 but hasn’t executed a single inmate since 20006. This stems from Judge Jeremy Fogel of United States District Court in San Jose’s ordered changes in California’s execution methods. Nearly 40 percent of California’s 748 death row inmates have been imprisoned more than 19 years.
According to Carney, the system relies on random factors rather than legitimate ones such as the nature of the crime or the date of the death sentence, to determine exactly when a death row inmate meets their execution. The “random few” of the death row inmates that will be executed will have suffered for so long that their death serves no deterrent purpose for the public interest.
A director of the ACLU of Northern California, Natasha Minsker, told the Los Angeles Times that Carney’s ruling marked the first time a federal judge has found the state’s current system unconstitutional.
Professor Douglas A. Berman of The Ohio State University told The New York Times that, technically, California could address Carney’s ruling by immediately moving forward with the executions. He does note that this idea would take a great deal of effort to enact.
In 2012, California voters narrowly affirmed the death penalty—48 percent of voters favored replacing it with life in prison with no parole.
Carney’s decision is expected to inspire similar arguments in death penalty appeals around the country. The case could work its way up through the court system. Judge Carney’s ruling can be appealed to the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Even if the case doesn’t make it to Supreme Court, the ruling will probably generate appeals in any state with large backups on death row.

A spokesperson for the state attorney general, Kamala D. Harris, said Carney’s decision is being reviewed by her office.

At the Law Offices of Arash Hashemi, our team of expert criminal defense lawyers is dedicated to fighting aggressively for our clients’ rights. To schedule a consultation with a lawyer at our firm, call us at (310) 448-1529 or contact us online. Located in Westside Towers in LA, our office is minutes from Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Westwood and steps away from the Expo/Bundy Station. We have flexible hours and offer weekend appointments, and we will visit you in jail for consultation on your case.

Photo Credits: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

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