News Coverage of California Commission

The Los Angeles Times reports, "California's death penalty is dysfunctional, panel finds."

California's administration of the death penalty is "dysfunctional" and "close to collapse," plagued by delays of nearly twice the national average from sentencing to execution and drowning under a backlog of cases, a state commission reported today.

In its final report, the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice said the state's death row of 670 inmates -- the largest in the nation -- will continue to swell unless the state nearly doubles what it now spends on attorneys for inmates or changes sentencing laws.

In an interview, Santa Clara University law professor Gerald Uelmen, executive director of the commission, called today's report "kind of like poking a stick in a hornet's nest" and predicted it would receive wide attention.

The 22-member commission, created by the Legislature to recommend improvements in the criminal justice system, includes law enforcement and defense bar representatives and victim advocates.

Although commissioners strongly disagreed on some issues, they were unanimous in concluding that the current death penalty system was failing and in agreeing that a large amount of money was needed for significant change. The report offers alternative proposals for reform.

The San Jose Mercury News has, "Report: State should abolish death penalty or make drastic changes."

While the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice fell short of recommending abolition of the state's death penalty, the report painted a bleak picture of what it labeled a "broken system."

The report called for a number of reforms aimed at ridding the state of the worst death row backlog in the nation, speeding up an appellate process that drags on for decades, improving death row representation and forcing prosecutors to be more selective in the cases they choose to press for the ultimate punishment.

  "Doing nothing would be the worst possible course," the report said.

The report is the final chapter for the commission, established three years ago to explore all aspects of California's criminal justice system, including the death penalty. The commission, chaired by former Attorney General John Van de Kamp, has already recommended a number of reforms that were approved by the Legislature, such as safeguards to ward off false confessions, faulty eyewitness testimony and the overuse of jailhouse informants. However, all of the commission's legislative reforms have been vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Earlier coverage is here.