PROP
34
DEATH PENALTY.
INITIATIVE STATUTE.
OFFICIAL TITLE AND SUMMARY
PREPARED BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
DEATH PENALTY. INITIATIVE STATUTE.
- Repeals death penalty as maximum punishment for persons found guilty of murder and replaces it with life imprisonment without possibility of parole.
- Applies retroactively to persons already sentenced to death.
- States that persons found guilty of murder must work while in prison as prescribed by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, with their wages subject to deductions to be applied to any victim restitution fines or orders against them.
- Directs $100 million to law enforcement agencies for investigations of homicide and rape cases.
Summary of Legislative Analyst's Estimate of Net State and Local Government Fiscal Impact:
- State and county savings related to murder trials, death penalty appeals, and corrections of about $100 million annually in the first few years, growing to about $130 million annually thereafter. This estimate could be higher or lower by tens of millions of dollars, largely depending on how the measure is implemented and the rate at which offenders would otherwise be sentenced to death and executed in the future.
- One-time state costs totaling $100 million for grants to local law enforcement agencies to be paid over the next four years.