Author, Expert & Speaker

In a recent blog, I highlighted the death penalty referendums on three states’ November 8, 2016, ballots. In my opinion, the results of all three plebiscites are laden with the national swell of anger and the pernicious erosion of objectivity toward marginalized cultures in our country—in this instance, persons awaiting state-imposed death sentences.

Here are the final data from votes on capital punishment in California, Nebraska, and Oklahoma:

  • California

Passed: California Proposition 62,  Repeal of Death Penalty Initiative

Meaning: California voters approved of the state’s power to enact the death penalty.

Approval Rate: 53.9 percent to 46.1 percent

(Source: CA Secretary of State)

 

Passed: California Proposition 66,  Death Penalty Procedure Time Limits Initiative

Meaning: This decision changes the length of legal challenges of the death penalty to a maximum of five years.

Approval Rate: 50.9 percent to 49.1 percent

(Source: CA Secretary of State)

 

  • Nebraska

Passed: Referendum 426, Nebraska Death Penalty Repeal of Veto

Meaning: Voters repealed the governor’s veto of the death penalty, opening the door to the state’s enactment of capital punishment and stopping the automatic commutation of death sentences to life in prison.

Approval Rate: 61.2 percent to 38.8 percent

(Source: New York Times)

 

  • Oklahoma

Passed: State Question 776, Oklahoma Death Penalty Amendment

Meaning: Voters supported amending the Oklahoma Constitution to guarantee the state’s power to impose capital punishment and set methods of execution.

Approval Rate: 66.37 percent to 33.63 percent

(Source: Politico)

 

Questions:

  • How do you think the 2016 presidential election impacted the death penalty decisions?
  • Do you agree that the results reek from a swell of anger and the pernicious erosion of objectivity toward condemned inmates?
  • What prison reforms, if any, would you like to see on the topic of capital punishment?

Please let me know your thoughts on these questions and share any other opinions you have about this blog in the comment section.

 

Image courtesy of pixabay

 

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