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Dubious California Death Penalty Report Due Today

By Kent Scheidegger et al.

The California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice plans to release its report on the death penalty today. The press release is here. The circumstances of this commission's creation and its actions to date do not bode well for anyone hoping for a fair, balanced report. The commission was created by former California Senate leader John Burton, a dyed-in-the-wool opponent of the death penalty. Normally, commissions are set up by legislation through the standard process of bicameral approval plus governor's signature. Burton set up his commission by a unilateral resolution of the Senate alone, Senate Resolution 44 of 2004. This unique mode of creation enabled him to keep the appointments entirely in the hands of the Senate Rules Committee, which is firmly under the control of the left wing-tip of the Democratic Party...continue to full post

Full post as published by Crime and Consequences on June 30, 2008 (boomark / email).