Help Stop Lethal Injection in California
Tuesday, June 16, 2009 6:25 AM

From:

"National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty" <ncadp@mail.democracyinaction.org>

To:
wandavaldes@webtv.net

Greetings All,

Our friends at Death Penalty Focus in California are asking everyone to participate in the below action.  You can this take action even if you do not live in California!  Your few minutes right now could really make a difference!

But first, two quick announcements:  #1 - See opportunities for action on NCADP's calendar of upcoming events, and #2 - See NCADP's summer edition of Lifelines, available now on our web page.

And now, the California action:

Breaking News!

The State of California has announced that it is moving forward with developing execution procedures so that executions can resume. Executions have been on hold for more than three years.  The State will be holding a hearing on Tuesday, June 30th from 9am to 3pm in Sacramento to hear public comments about the proposed execution procedures.

Death Penalty Focus, along with our allies, will be organizing a critical Day of Action to End the Death Penalty on June 30th.

What you can do:

1. Please join us in Sacramento on June 30th. Click here to sign-up.  Free buses/carpooling from Oakland and San Francisco will be available.

2. Please consider submitting a written comment expressing your concern about the proposed lethal injection procedures in California. (Sample letter is here)  Please take this action even if you do not live in California.

How to Submit a Written Public Comment on CDCR's Proposed Lethal Injection Procedures:

1. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has released proposed regulations on the lethal injection process for public comment. Any member of the public may comment on any aspect of the proposed regulations.

2. The CDCR is required by law to read and consider every relevant comment. The summary below is provided to assist interested members of the public in understanding how the proposed regulations impact individuals and the state, and in drafting relevant public comments. 

3. You are encouraged to make your letter as long as you want, and to include as much information as you want about yourself and your perspective on the death penalty. (Please feel free to visit DPF's website for the latest facts and statistics.) Please make sure to include at least one comment that is specific to the proposed regulations (examples below).

4. Written comments may be submitted by mail, fax, or email. They must be received by June 30, 2009 at 5:00 pm PDT.  If possible, please consider submitting your comment between June 20th and June 30th.  If you send your comment by mail, please also consider sending a copy by email to ensure it arrives by June 30th.

5. Comments should be directed to:

Mr. Timothy Lockwood
Chief, Regulation and Policy Management Branch
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
P.O. Box 942883
Sacramento, CA 94283-0001
Email : rpmb@cdcr.ca.gov
Fax : (916) 255 5601

6. Comments should note that they are regarding the proposed Amendments to Title 15, Article 7.5, Sections 3349.

7. Please include your name and address in your letter.

8. Please consider looking at our Sample Letter for ideas on how to set-up and structure your letter. 

Primary Issues of Concern:

I. Fiscal Impact of the Proposed Regulations
The CDCR is required to make an assessment of the fiscal impact of the proposed regulations. The CDCR has declared that the proposed regulations have no fiscal impact at all. This is incorrect. The public has a right to know exactly how much it will cost taxpayers to carry out executions using lethal injection at San Quentin prison, as proposed in the regulations.

II. Media Access and the Public's Right to Know
If the state of California kills prisoners in the name of the people, then the people have a right to know the truth about the process. The First Amendment protects the right of the media to witness the execution and to access information about the process. The proposed regulations unduly limit the media's access to information, and therefore the public's right to know.

III. Religious Freedom and Rights
The Constitution, human rights norms, and basic human decency require that before the state takes a person's life, he or she should be provided with full access to and support of appropriate religious advisors. The proposed regulations unduly interfere with the religious rights of the person to be executed and fail to guarantee all necessary religious freedoms.

a. The State Chaplain Cannot be Asked to Disclose Private Communications
The proposed regulations require the State Chaplain to report to the Warden the contents of private conversations with the person to be executed (3349.3.1(e), 3349.3.3(f)). This is an unnecessary violation of the clergy penitent relationship, is contrary to the ethical obligations of clergy, and may violate state law.

b. Accommodation Must be Made for End of Life Rituals
The proposed regulations make no accommodation for end of life rituals such as sweat lodges (3349.3.4(e)). The regulations are silent as to how such requests will be handled. The CDCR previously denied at least one Native American's request to have a sweat lodge prior to execution. The regulations should include a process for requesting and accommodating such rituals.

c. All Spiritual Advisors Should be Allowed Cell Front Visiting
The proposed regulations only permit the State Chaplains to visit the person to be executed in front of his cell to conduct necessary religious rituals (3349.3.4(e), 3349.4.2(b)). All other spiritual advisors are limited to visiting in the common visiting area, a space that may be inappropriate for some rituals such as confessions. All spiritual advisors should be allowed equal access to cell front visiting.

d. A Spiritual Advisor Should be Permitted in the Execution Chamber
The proposed regulations limit the spiritual advisors to visiting in the holding area next to the execution chamber, and do not permit the advisor to accompany the person to be executed into the chamber (3349.3.4(e)(3)). Under the proposed regulations, other individuals are stationed in the chamber, particularly a non guard execution team member (3349.4.5(e)(8)) and the Warden (3349.4.5(f)(1)). Texas has long permitted the spiritual advisor to enter the execution chamber and to touch the person during the execution. There is no legitimate reason to exclude the spiritual advisor from the execution chamber or prohibit physical contact with the person being executed.
 
IV. Treatment of the Person to be Executed and Their Family
Many aspects of the proposed regulations are unnecessarily dehumanizing and burdensome to the person to be executed and his family. Undoubtedly, the state's actions in carrying out the execution will always be hurtful to these individuals. But the proposed regulations impose many unnecessary burdens and restrictions that only serve to isolate and intimidate the person to be executed and his family.

V. Denial of Legal Rights
The proposed regulations fail to protect the legal rights of the person to be executed, particularly the rights of individuals with mental or physical disabilities. Further, the regulations ignore the rights of surviving family members to review and potentially contest the manner in which the execution was conducted.
 

For more detail on any of these sections, please request a 10-page analysis by contacting stefanie@deathpenalty.org.

CDCR's proposed regulations (43 pages) and supporting material are available here.

***

Thank you for taking this action.

--abe

Abraham J. Bonowitz
Director of Affiliate Support
National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
1705 DeSales St., NW  Fifth Floor
Washington, DC 20036
http://www.ncadp.org/
abe@ncadp.org
202-331-4090