Politics & Government

Senator Seeks to Speed Up Death Penalty Process

Sen. Joel Anderson introduces two measures that would change the way death penalty cases are appealed. "Justice delayed is justice denied," according to Anderson.

State Sen. Joel Anderson -- whose district includes Wildomar and Lake Elsinore -- has been an advocate for streamlining the execution process in California, which can last for decades as appeals are heard.

In a last September, Anderson compared the number of inmates executed in Texas with the number in California, “where the average time from sentencing until punishment is about 25 years.”

“In the last 20 years, California has executed only 13 murderers while Texas has executed over 400. Justice delayed is justice denied,” Anderson wrote.

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Last week, Anderson introduced two measures intended to streamline the implementation of the death penalty in California.

Under Senate Bill 1514, prisoners sentenced to death would no longer get an automatic appeal, according to a release issued by Anderson’s office. Senate Constitutional Amendment 20 would require that appeals of death penalty cases go to the state Courts of Appeal, instead of the Supreme Court of California.

Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to Anderson’s office, SB 1514 would make California the first state to eliminate automatic appeals of death penalty cases.

“The most heinous murderers should not be afforded special appeal rights beyond those of other convicted criminals,” Anderson said in a statement. “If anything, the sooner these violent murderers are executed the safer it will be for law-abiding citizens.”

The Republican senator represents the 36th District, which covers a large part of East County and reaches into Riverside County.


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