California measure to limit time for capital appeals is blocked by state supreme court
The California Supreme Court Tuesday granted a motion to block a recently approved measure that limits capital appeals to five years.
Currently, it takes more than 20 years for a California death row inmate to exhaust his or her appeals, the Associated Press reports. Opposition to the measure includes fears that the five-year window won’t give enough time to find evidence that could be favorable to the defense, the Orange County Register reported.
The motion to block the measure was brought by John Van de Kamp, a former California attorney general, and Ron Briggs. Briggs’ father, John Briggs, is a former California Republican politician who led a 1978 initiative to expand what could be considered as special circumstances to sentence someone to death.
Ron Briggs, who is a political consultant, told Capitol Weekly that while he once supported the death penalty, he now opposes it. He believes that it is not a deterrent to committing murder.
“It’s more a social, mental health issue more than anything else,” said Briggs, a Catholic who credits his faith for the opinion switch.
“There’s a sense of irony in the fact that (Briggs and his dad) were so involved in the issue in the outset and they’ve seen it fail,” Van de Kamp, a former public defender who’s now of counsel at Mayer Brown, told Capitol Weekly. “It shows minds can change over time.”
California voters approved Proposition 66 by 51.3 percent, the New York Times reported.
