- October 31 , 2001
Governor
Asked to Halt Executions
SAN
JOSE, Calif. -- Santa Clara County has become the second California
county to ask Gov. Gray Davis to halt all executions.
The
county's board of supervisors passed the non-binding resolution 4-1 on
Tuesday. The city and county of San Francisco has approved a similar
resolution, as have the cities of Oakland, Berkeley and Santa Cruz.
The
supervisors are requesting that all executions stop until studies on
fairness in sentencing and the risk of executing innocent people are
completed. Supervisors said Santa Clara County's increasingly diverse
population prompted them to consider the number of minorities sentenced to
death there.
Supervisor
Dan Gage cast the lone ``no'' vote. He said he understands the way the
death penalty is implemented may need modification, but said he is against
a moratorium on the death penalty while it's being studied.
A
recent Field Poll found that as many as 73 percent of Californians support
a moratorium. Similar measures have passed in more than 30 cities,
including Atlanta, Baltimore and Philadelphia.
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