P.O. Box 11622
Oakland, CA
94611
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RESOLUTION OF CALLING FOR A MORATORIUM (adopted October, 2001)
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WHEREAS, more than 595 men and women currently await execution in the state of California, the most in the nation; AND at least six men convicted of capital murder in California since the death penalty was reinstated in 1977 were subsequently freed after having been found to be wrongly convicted; AND since 1973, 96 people in 22 states have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence;
WHEREAS, the application of the death penalty across the United States and in California has been shown to be arbitrary, capricious and unfair;
AND a June, 2000 Columbia University study entitled "A Broken System: Error Rates in Capital Cases" determined that appellate review of death sentences nationwide had found reversible error in 68% of these cases; that in 82% of the cases retried after reversal, a death sentence was not imposed;
AND the Joint Legislative Budget Committee of the California Legislature has estimated that elimination of the death penalty would result in a net savings to state and local governments of at least several tens of millions of dollars annually – money that could be used by governments to fund measures that deal with crime prevention and other social needs;
AND a June, 2000 Field poll indicated that 73% of the California public favor an immediate moratorium on executions while the reliability and fairness in application of the death penalty are reviewed;
WHEREAS, the American Bar Association has called for a moratorium on the death penalty and the Republican Governor of Illinois, George Ryan, enacted a moratorium in 2000 after 13 condemned individuals were exonerated and released from death row.;
AND one of the largest nationally organized victims’ rights groups, Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation, whose membership is comprised of those whose children, spouses, or loved ones have been lost to murder, has called for abolition of the death penalty as a way of breaking the cycle of violence;
AND over 1,800 organizations, local governments, and state legislatures (including legislatures of the states of Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and the California cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco) have called for or have pending legislation calling for a moratorium on capital punishment based on concerns about racial and economic discrimination, geographic disparities in sentencing, and the risk of executing innocent people.
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Metropolitan-Greater Oakland (MGO) Democratic Club calls for a moratorium on executions in California because of the substantial risk that:
1) innocent persons may be executed;
2) direct or indirect discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, county of prosecution, or economic status may affect the choice of who should receive a death sentence, and
3) unfair and unreliable death sentences may be imposed as the result of inadequate representation by defense counsel and/or improper conduct by the police and prosecution;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the President of the MGO Democratic Club shall, at a time to be determined by the president of the club and the club’s Criminal Justice Committee, forward copies of this resolution to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, to state legislators and members of Congress elected by Alameda County citizens, to the California Democratic Party, and to Governor Gray Davis;
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the MGO Democratic Club shall take an active role within Alameda County, the state of California, and the California Democratic Party, in advocating a moratorium on executions by the state of California and by the United States Government. The president of the club shall work in coordination with the Criminal Justice Committee to determine the time when public announcements and messages will further these goals.
Click here for more information on MGO's work on behalf of the Death Penalty Moratorium Campaign.