The death penalty as we know it represents an unfair, unjust and unequal system that does not make us safer. In California, we have the largest death row anywhere in the Western Hemisphere, with 737 people awaiting execution. Under my authority as governor, I signed an executive order last week putting a moratorium on the death penalty in California and closing our state's death chamber at San Quentin. Our death penalty system has cost us $5 billion since 1978. A Death Penalty Information Center analysis of US murder data from 1987 through 2015 found no evidence that the death penalty deters murder or protects police.

Source: CNN March 21, 2019 22:52 UTC