Proposition 66: Death Penalty Procedures
Official Results
Available once the California Secretary of State has certified the election. This can take up to 3 weeks or more.
Yes votes: 6,626,159 (51.1%)
No votes: 6,333,731 (48.9%)
Changes procedures governing state court challenges to death sentences. Designates superior court for initial petitions and limits successive petitions. Requires appointed attorneys who take noncapital appeals to accept death penalty appeals. Exempts prison officials from existing regulation process for developing execution methods. Fiscal Impact: Unknown ongoing impact on state court costs for processing legal challenges to death sentences. Potential prison savings in the tens of millions of dollars annually.
Pro/Con Statements
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Proponents of Proposition 66 advocate reforming the death penalty procedures, rather than ending it as proposed by Proposition 62. They claim Proposition 66 will speed up the death penalty appeals process while ensuring that no innocent person is ever executed.
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Opponents of Proposition 66 believe that the measure would increase the risk of executing an innocent person. They claim the measure will increase prison spending, and add government bureaucracy and taxpayer costs to the appeals system. They also say the measure is poorly written, and would expose the state to expensive litigation.
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