California Proposition 7, or the Death Penalty Act, is a ballot proposition approved in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

by statewide ballot on November 7, 1978. Proposition 7 increased the penalties for

first degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

and

second degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, ...

, expanded the list of special circumstances requiring a

death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

without the possibility of

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

, and revised existing law relating to

mitigating Mitigation is the reduction of something harmful that has occurred or the reduction of its harmful effects. It may refer to measures taken to reduce the harmful effects of hazards that remain ''in potentia'', or to manage harmful incidents that ...

aggravating circumstances Aggravation, in law, is "any circumstance attending the commission of a crime or tort which increases its guilt or enormity or adds to its injurious consequences, but which is above and beyond the essential constituents of the crime or tort itself" ...

Background

Conservative politician John V. Briggs recruited attorney Donald J. Heller to draft the proposal. The official ballot title and summary of the

ballot measure A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

prepared by the

California Attorney General The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the government of California. The officer must ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section 13). The ...

read: :Murder. Penalty. Initiative Statute. :Changes and expands categories of first degree murder for which penalties of death or confinement without possibility of parole may be imposed. Changes minimum sentence for first degree murder from life to 25 years to life. Increases penalty for second degree murder. Prohibits parole of convicted murderers before service of 25 or 15 year terms, subject to good-time credit. During punishment stage of cases in which death penalty is authorized: permits consideration of all felony convictions of defendant; requires court to impanel new jury if first jury is unable to reach a unanimous verdict on punishment. Financial impact: Indeterminable future increase in state costs."

Election results

*Yes: 4,480,275 (71.1%) *No: 1,818,357 (28.9%)

Impact

Since its creation until the end of 2011, the law had resulted in 13 executions and cost taxpayers $4 billion, according to a study co-authored by

Loyola Law School Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Jesuit university in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920. Academics Degrees offered include the Juris Doctor (JD); Master of Science in Legal ...

professor Paula Mitchell. Mitchell and

U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

Judge

Arthur Alarcón Arthur Lawrence Alarcón (August 14, 1925 – January 28, 2015) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Education and career Born in Los Angeles, California, Alarcón was a Staff Sergeant i ...

estimated California was spending $184 million a year on lawyers, expert witnesses and secure prisons associated with the

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...

population created by Proposition 7. Ron Briggs, son of John Briggs, joined Heller and others in seeking to repeal Proposition 7, including Jeanne Woodford, a former warden at

San Quentin State Prison San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ), formerly known as San Quentin State Prison, is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated area, unincorporated place ...

, and former Los Angeles district attorney

Gil Garcetti Gilbert Salvador Iberri Garcetti (born August 5, 1941) is an American politician and lawyer. He served as Los Angeles County's 40th district attorney for two terms, from 1992 until November 7, 2000. He is the father of former U.S. Ambassador to ...

. Arguments for repeal have focused on the costs and the ethics of the death penalty.

References

External links

PDF of the November 7, 1978 ballot proposition voter guide

1978 California ballot propositions Death penalty law Criminal penalty ballot measures in the United States {{capital-punishment-stub