Misleading attack on death penalty proposition

Deputy District Attorney James Bozajian's misleading attack on Proposition 34 ("Proposition to end the death penalty an ill-conceived measure," Sept. 17), which would repeal the death penalty, does a disservice to voters. In this brief letter-to-the-editor, I cannot begin to correct all of Bozajian's errors, so readers are encouraged to examine the facts for themselves by going to http://www.safecalifornia.org.

Essentially, aside of saying that Prop. 34 would repeal the death penalty, Bozajian conceals most of its key provisions: The independent non-partisan Legislative Analyst's official report on Prop. 34 says California taxpayers will save $130 million each year without releasing a single prisoner. Convicted killers will be held accountable and pay for their crimes because Prop. 34 requires persons convicted of murder to work and pay restitution into a victim's compensation fund.

Bozajian also fails to disclose that the SAFE California Fund created by Prop. 34 takes $30 million a year for three years in budget savings and puts it into the investigation of unsolved rape and murder cases. Money for the fund comes directly from closing three state agencies that currently handle expensive death penalty appeals and gives a temporary boost to local law enforcement budgets at a time of severe budget shortfalls.

The appellate process which Bozajian ridicules has in fact revealed serious flaw such as police and prosecutorial misconduct, racial bias, ineffective assistance of counsel and judicial error, all of which pose an unacceptable risk of executing the innocent. Life in prison without possibility of parole under Prop. 34 will keep society safe and hold convicted criminals accountable, while eliminated the risk of ever executing an innocent person.

Finally, Bozajian is dead wrong that the death penalty is a deterrent. Gil Garcetti, who served 32 years in the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office, is now a staunch supporter of Prop. 34. "I have concluded that the death penalty law should be replaced with life imprisonment without the possibly of parole. Why? Because the death penalty serves no useful purpose. It is not a deterrent. It is horrendously expensive, and we cannot afford it. There also are too many instances, nationwide, where people have been on Death Row until new evidence determined their total innocence. I would not be shocked if one or more of the 720 prisoners on Death Row in California were innocent of the crime for which he or she awaits execution. We cannot bring back a murdered loved one. But we can help prevent future similar tragedies by using our very limited financial resources in smarter ways than to finance a law that serves no useful purpose."

Armed with the facts, voters would do well to follow the advice of former Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti and vote YES on Prop. 34.