Proposition 34: Replacing the Death Penalty with Life Without Parole
This November, California voters will have the opportunity to replace the death penalty with life without possibility of parole by voting YES on Proposition 34, which stands for "Savings, Accountability, and Full Enforcement for California Act" (formerly SAFE California).
Savings: Many people believe that executing a prisoner is cheaper than incarceration for life. In fact, the opposite is true: California will save a grand total of $1 billion over five years by eliminating the death penalty.
Accountability: SAFE California requires persons convicted of murder to work while in prison and to apply their earnings to a victims' compensation fund.
Full Enforcement: On average, 46% of murders and 56% of rapes go unsolved in California each year. The SAFE Act creates a $100 million fund to help track down down these dangerous criminals and close these cases.
Prop 34 accords with the Church’s pro-life teaching on capital punishment and restorative justice, and eliminates the grave risk of executing an innocent person. The bishops of the California Catholic Conference have collectively lauded the initiative's qualification for the November ballot and lend their full support to its passage. In the words of Bishop Gerald Wilkerson, the initiative is a "prudent, life-affirming, safety-enhancing, and cost-savings change in sentencing law."
NEW: Archbishop Cordileone Statement in Support of Prop 34
Prop 34 Bulletin Insert from California Catholic Conference
Prop 34 One-Page Analysis from Catholic Conference
Bishop McGrath's September Statement in Support of Prop 34
Bulletin Announcement: Bishop McGrath's statement
From the US Bishops: What Every Catholic Should Know about the Death Penalty
From the US Bishops: A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death
Rev. Mike Carson's Interview with Jeannne Woodford of Death Penalty Focus
Bishop Cirilio Flores Article: Death Penalty is not Justice