SACRAMENTO – Today, Assembly Public Safety Committee Vice Chair Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) issued the following statement in response to Governor Newsom’s announcement that he will unilaterally suspend California’s death penalty, in defiance of California voters who overwhelmingly rejected a measure to end capital punishment just three years ago:
“Governor Newsom just abandoned his promise to be a leader for all Californians by putting his own views above the will of the people. In 2016, Californians spoke loud and clear by rejecting a plan to repeal the death penalty by a decisive margin. It’s insulting that Governor Newsom would go back on his promise to honor the voters’ choice.
“It’s not just voters that Governor Newsom is disrespecting, but murder victims and their families as well. What do you say to someone who’s finding out from a press conference that their loved-one’s killer won’t face justice?
“Death row inmates are not ordinary criminals. They are kidnappers. They are cop-killers. They are rapists who murdered their victims. These are the monsters Governor Newsom is protecting.”
