Argumentative Essay: The Death Penalty In California

Thirty one states in the U.S. have the death penalty instated. California is one of them (deathpenaltyinfo.org). On March 3, 1893 the first execution at San Quentin State Prison in California occurred. The method of execution was hanging. On December 2, 1938 the first execution by lethal injection occurred. This method was implemented to replace hanging (cdcr.ca.gov). By 1967, there had not been any executions for 25 years and it was decided in February of 1972 by the California Supreme Court that the death penalty was considered cruel and unusual punishment. 107 inmates at San Quentin State Prison were changed to life in prison with the possibility of parole2 (cdcr.ca.gov). In November 1978 with the help of Prop 7, the death penalty in California was reinstated. With the state constitution previously being amended in 1972, the death penalty became mandatory for specified criminal cases, such as kidnapping and the victim dies and first degree murders with special conditions2 (cdcr.ca.gov.). As of November 2015, there are currently 747 inmates on death row in California (cnn.com). …show more content…
Carney is the federal judge for the United States District Court for Central District of California. Judge Carney joined the court in 2003 after being nominated by President George W. Bush (ballotpedia.org). On July 16, 2014 Judge Carney ruled that the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment and was unconstitutional. The Eighth Amendment prohibits the government from inflicting cruel and unusual punishment. Judge Carney states the death penalty is cruel and unusual because he believes an inmate waiting for their sentence is the same as threatening them with death. He also believes the execution will serve “no deterrent purpose because the person will have languished for so