Ronald George (pictured), Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, recently called the state’s death penalty “dysfunctional” and criticized state lawmakers for their unwillingness to adequately fund the state’s capital punishment system. The Justice noted that this refusal has been “a disservice to the administration of justice.” George added, “I think that there are many, many things in the eyes of legislators that have greater priority. That’s the problem. People want to have the death penalty, but they don’t want to pay everything it costs to have it implemented in a judicious manner… . The system is very dysfunctional.”
George, a Republican who was appointed to the court by Governor Pete Wilson, said that the California Supreme Court needs several new staff attorneys to process capital cases, and he also stated that lawmakers need to increase hourly payments to lawyers handling death penalty appeals in order to keep inmates from waiting years before counsel is appointed. Approximately 25% of those on California’s death row do not have a publicly appointed lawyer to challenge their conviction and sentence. Since California reinstated the death penalty in 1978, 13 people have been put to death. Four times as many people on death row have died of natural causes, suicide, or murder.
