Proposition 195 updates California's death penalty law. In order to impose the death penalty or a sentence of life without possibility of parole, a defendant must be found guilty of first-degree murder and a special circumstance.
First-degree murder includes various types of felony murder. Under the first-degree felony murder rule, when a criminal participant kills a non-participant during a robbery, carjacking, sexual assault crime, kidnapping or other listed felony, all criminal participants are guilty of first-degree murder.
The list of special circumstances includes murders for financial gain, the victim was a law enforcement officer or firefighter, retaliatory murders of witnesses, prosecutors, or judges; and with two exceptions, all first-degree felony murders.
The two categories of first-degree felony murders which are not currently special circumstances are carjacking and kidnapping-carjacking first-degree felony murders. All other first-degree felony murders are also special circumstances. Proposition 195 would make the law of first-degree felony murder conform with the law of special circumstances by adding these two categories to the list of special circumstances.
As noted above, the current death penalty law covers retaliatory murders of witnesses, prosecutors, and judges, but does not include a retaliatory murder of a juror as a special circumstance murder. Murdering a juror because of his or her official actions is an equal outrage and should be treated as such. Proposition 195 adds retaliatory first-degree murders of jurors to the special circumstance list.
Proposition 195 is supported by Governor Wilson, the California District Attorneys Association, the California Peace Officers Association, the California State Sheriffs Association, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, and the Doris Tate Crime Victims Bureau.
Vote Yes on Proposition 195!
STEVE PEACE
Senator, 40th District
PETER FRUSETTA
Assemblyman, 28th District
MICHAEL BRADBURY
District Attorney of Ventura County