Two members of the Supreme Court of California have described the death penalty on Thursday as an “expensive and dysfunctional system” that does not provide the appropriate justice. The complaint was written by Judge Goodwin Liu and accompanied by Judge Mariano Florentino Cuellar, both appointed by Jerry Brown, predecessor and fellow Democrat of Governor Gavin Newsom, who two weeks ago imposed a moratorium on the death penalty in the most populous state from the country.
Liu and Cuellar have pointed out that their criticism has nothing to do with the “morality or constitutionality of the death penalty” and they have expressed their empathy for the victims and their families. In their statements, the judges have highlighted the case in question in the appeal of Thomas Potts, convicted in 1998 for the murders and theft of an elderly couple in his home in Hanford, California, where Potts worked part time as a maintenance staff.
“The death penalty is an expensive and dysfunctional system that does not provide justice in an appropriate manner,” the judges said in their statement. Voters approved a measure in 2016 to speed up the process, but that initiative has not worked, partly because it lacked the additional funds needed to implement the necessary reforms, according to the judges. However, they have also promised that they will continue to respect death sentences “when the law so requires”.
Newsom signed a moratorium on the death penalty in the middle of the month, a measure that affects the 737 prisoners sentenced to capital punishment in the state. The decision was criticized by the president of the country, Donald Trump, who before the signing of the moratorium accused Newsom of «defying the voters» and «suspending the execution of 737 murderers in cold blood».
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