“In our experience, most survivors want ‘justice’ for the murderers of their family members. Repealing the death penalty will not heal these peoples’ wounds; it keeps them permanently open…

Moreover, victims’ families will always be haunted by the specter that an inmate sentenced to life without parole will suddenly ask the governor to reduce a sentence – as happened recently in the case of a Fresno murderer who waited 36 years and applied for clemency. As long as an inmate sentenced to life without parole lives, the governor could reduce the sentence and a murderer may be released on the streets.

Finally, Briggs [Ron Briggs, former supervisor of El Dorado County in California] is dead wrong to assert that the death penalty has been conclusively shown not to deter crime. Experience and common sense confirm a deterrent effect.”