Posts Tagged: sentence

Execution not the only form of prison death

The watchtower at a California state prison (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)

by Philip Melendez posted 07.29.2019

OPINION: Fifteen years into a 41 years-to-life sentence, I arrived at San Quentin — the home of Death Row. I immediately noticed the difference between the treatment of condemned people and of general population people, like myself. Anytime condemned people left their cell they were shackled at the waist and feet. As they moved through the corridors and walkways, all general population people were told to face the wall.

Brown’s commutations: A journey through violence, redemption

A cell block at Folsom Prison. Photo: Grace2Grow

by CHUCK MCFADDEN posted 08.29.2017

The stories behind Gov. Jerry Brown’s nine recent sentence commutations reveal tangled lives marked by murder, abuse, addiction and determined efforts by criminals — usually over decades — to turn their lives around. Here are their stories.

A federal judge has ordered a conference in the case of a driver who got a $200 ticket for turning right at a stop light in suburban Sacramento. The motorist filed a federal complaint against the Department of Motor Vehicles, the California Judicial Council and the Sacramento County Superior Court, saying he is one of millions of people who had their licenses suspended because they couldn’t afford costs and administrative fees.

CA120: Poll shows angry two-thirds back Judge Persky recall

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky. (Photo: Jason Doiy/The Recorder via AP)

by JONATHAN BROWN AND PAUL MITCHELL posted 06.23.2016

To further explore the issue of Judge Persky’s possible recall, we conducted a poll of 776 registered voters within the county who would be passing judgement on a recall if it were to qualify for a future ballot. And, rather than a few loud voices of protest, our poll finds that two-thirds (67%) of Santa Clara County voters support a recall. Women, and especially younger women, are at the center of the storm with a more than 4-to-1 support.

Support for death penalty at 50-year low

Gurney used for lethal injections, San Quentin Prison. (Photo: Department of Corrections)

by MARK DICAMILLO AND MERVIN FIELD posted 09.12.2014

Field Poll: Support for the death penalty as a punishment for serious crimes in California is now at its lowest point in nearly fifty years. The latest Field Poll finds 56% of voters in favor of keeping the death penalty and 34% opposed. The 56% supporting continuation of the state’s capital punishment laws is down from 69% in 2011. Throughout the 1980’s and early 1990’s eight in ten California voters favored keeping the death penalty.