Statement from California Bishops Upon Qualification of the SAFE California Initiative

In January, we the bishops of the California Catholic Conference issued a statement of support for the Savings, Accountability and Full Enforcement for California Act (SAFE California) Initiative, which would replace the penalty of death with one of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

We are pleased that many Catholic people have assisted the sponsors of the SAFE California Initiative in collecting the signatures necessary, and offer our congratulations to them upon the Secretary of State’s announcement of the initiative’s official qualification for placement on California’s November ballot. If the voters of California pass the SAFE initiative, the 725 inmates currently on Death Row will have their sentences converted to life imprisonment without any possibility of parole. read more

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