Which Way, L.A.?
The Death Penalty and the SAFE California Initiative
In November, voters will likely be asked to replace capital punishment with life without parole. We talk with one of the people who wrote the current death penalty law.
By Warren Olney • • 51m ListenThere are 723 people on California's Death Row, at a cost of $184 million extra a year. On the November ballot, voters are likely to be asked to replace capital punishment with life without the possibility of parole. We talk with an unexpected supporter — one of the people who wrote the current death penalty law. Also, "mistakes of the heart and mistakes of the mind." Two standards for cops who shoot when they're not supposed to. On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, is it "Stand Your Ground" or "Make My Day?" We hear about laws in Florida and 24 other states.
Banner image: Anti-death penalty campaigners stage a demonstration and march outside the Federal Bulding in Los Angeles on September 28, 2010. Photo by Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images
In this episode
3 storiesA Change of Heart on California's Killers
"The Briggs death penalty law in California simply doesn't work." That's according to Ron Briggs, who wrote the law, along with his father, then State Senator John Briggs, in 1977. It was passed by the voters in 1978.
Read the story18 minLA Police Commission Pressures Chief on Officer Shootings
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck makes a distinction between "mistakes of the heart and mistakes of the mind." That's from a report in today's LA Times that the Chief and the Police Commission are in disagreement on how to handle four police shootings that killed three people and wounded three more.
Read the story11 min'Stand Your Ground' in the Spotlight
It used to be that people threatened with violence had a duty to flee, unless they were defending their own homes. Now 25 states have extended the right to "defend the castle" to any place it's legal to be, and anyone who claims to "perceive" a threat has the right to use equal force for protection.
Read the story24 min
