A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that California’s death penalty is unconstitutional, saying the system is arbitrary, unfair, and that because the process is plagued with lengthy and unpredictable delays it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.
The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Cormac J. Carney, a conservative Republican judge appointed by President George W. Bush, is a major victory for California’s opponents of capital punishment in the state, and comes after a similar decision that halted executions in the state eight years ago.
In a case brought by a death row inmate against the warden of San Quentin state prison, Carney called the death penalty an empty promise that violates the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment.
“Inordinate and unpredictable delay has resulted in a death penalty system in which very few of the hundreds of individuals sentenced to death have been, or even will be, executed by the State,” the ruling read.
A death penalty appeal can last decades, Carney said, resulting in most condemned inmates dying of natural causes.
Full Article
Source