RIVERSIDE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE OPPOSES EFFORT TO DECLARE DEATH PENALTY UNCONSTITUTIONAL
May 12, 2024
RIVERSIDE – The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office opposes efforts led by the Office of the State Public Defender and the ACLU to declare the death penalty unconstitutional in California. This stance was taken in response to the ongoing case, Office of the State Public Defender v. Bonta, currently under consideration by the California Supreme Court.
On May 6, 2024, the DA’s Office filed a preliminary opposition to the petition by the Office of the State Public Defender and the ACLU.
“The claims put forth by the Public Defender’s Office and the ACLU regarding racial disparities in California's death penalty sentences are based on unreliable statistics and demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of our criminal justice system,” said District Attorney Mike Hestrin. “Despite their unfounded accusations, our decisions are guided solely by the facts and evidence of each case, not by race. The petitioners are disregarding both the California Constitution and the rights of victims in their pursuit of a narrow agenda. We trust that the Supreme Court will swiftly reject this politically motivated abuse of the judicial process.”
The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office has identified more than a dozen significant legal and factual flaws in the lawsuit and contends that it is an attempt to circumvent the will of California voters.
In 2016, California voters rejected Proposition 62, which aimed to repeal the death penalty. That same year, voters approved Proposition 66, which introduced several measures to expedite the processing of death row cases.
The petition, if granted, would nullify more than 600 death sentences rendered by juries and confirmed by judges across California. The Riverside County DA’s Office is requesting that the California Supreme Court deny this petition. As stated in the preliminary opposition filed by the DA’s Office: “There is nothing proper or legal about this petition. This court should put a stop to this improper political maneuver and misuse of the judicial process.”
The Riverside County District Attorney's Office urges the public and the media to closely scrutinize this improper effort to declare the death penalty unconstitutional and to support efforts that uphold the rule of law. A copy of the preliminary opposition filed by the DA’s Office, case number S284496, is available to the media upon request.
