The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
March 14, 2019

California Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs Moratorium on Death Penalty
--------------------------------------------------------------

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order putting a
moratorium on plans to execute more than 700 prisoners on death row.
This is Governor Newsom speaking in Sacramento Wednesday.

Gov. Gavin Newsom: "To line people up to be executed-premeditated,
state-sponsored executions, one a week for over 14 years-that's a choice
we can make. Or we can make, I think, a more enlightened choice: to
advance justice in a different way. It was a National Academy of Science
report that came out that estimates one out of every 25 people on death
row is innocent. If that's the case, that means if we move forward
executing 737 people in California, we will have executed roughly 30
people that are innocent. I don't know about you; I can't sign my name
to that."

The order does not abolish the death penalty in California but will ban
the practice during Newsom's tenure.


.