What California’s historic death row decision means for women facing execution
In a landmark decision, California Governor Gavin Newsom has commuted the death sentences of everyone on death row in the state, changing them instead to life in prison.
There are currently 548 people on death row in California, with Sky News reporting that it’s the largest system of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.
The politician’s decision comes a month after Christa Pike’s execution by lethal injection was botched in Tennessee, leaving her alive and ‘in pain’.
Newsom, who is preparing to leave office after eight years, placed a moratorium on executions in the state in 2019, but hundreds of people remained on death row.
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The Governor said in a letter addressing his decision to commute California's death sentences: “After nearly 30 years in public office, I have come to understand the limits of what government can justly accomplish.
“I take this action because I firmly believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California's values, undermines the foundations of our legal system and diminishes each of us".
He added: “We can now let these offenders die in obscurity while we forever remember and honour the victims.”
Among the 548 people on death row in the US state, there are conflicting reports about how many are women.
The Death Penalty Information Center reports that there are eight women, while Sky News and NBC have said the number is 19, according to numbers provided by Newsom’s office.
The DPIC names the women on death row as:
- Michelle Michaud
- Valerie Martin
- Skylar Sophie DeLeon
- Jessica Marie Hann
- Alison Lorraine Hunter
- Brooke Rottiers
- Kerry Dalton
- Veronica Gonzalez
- Desiree Bree Mickle
- Scarlet Holly
Tyla spoke with criminal justice scholar Nora Demleitner, who explained what Newsom’s decision might mean for these women.
The expert explained: “Most of the women benefitted from the Governor’s commutation directly, as they only have one felony conviction. For the remainder, the CA Supreme Court needs to weigh in to approve the commutations.
“The attempted execution of Christa Pike shook up the country, and may have impacted female death row inmates in particular.
“On the other hand, CA has had a long-standing moratorium on executions, and the execution of the last woman in CA was in 1962."
Demleitner went on: “Life without parole implies that they will die on death row. Yet, the commutation will end any threat of being killed by the state, which will remove the terror of scheduled death and may lead to lessened restrictions on prison conditions.”
Also speaking to Tyla, criminal defense and trial attorney Peter S. Christensen, weighed in and explained why the decision is so significant.
He outlined: “California has put executions on hold for years but those on death row still remain sentenced to die. Once a sentence is commuted, that person can no longer be executed under that sentence even if a future governor resumes executions which is very significant here.
"These women are not being cleared of their crimes or given a release date, this just means the proposed punishment would become life without parole. Some cases still require California Supreme Court approval so the announcement alone does not settle every case.”
Christensen added: “The psychological impact is pretty significant. Prison life has a routine a person can learn to live with. The threat of execution carries a different kind of uncertainty, whether and when the state will one day put you to death.
“You can adjust to life behind bars and still live with the fear that the state may one day execute you. When you remove the possibility of execution, it can ease a tremendous psychological burden for both the women and their families but regardless they still face life without parole.
“These women are expected to die in prison. Their daily lives may change very little because California had already moved condemned women into general population.
“Keep in mind that a commutation may change the punishment but it does not change the conviction.”
Tyla has contacted the Death Penalty Information Centre and Newsom's Office for comment.
Topics: News, US News, Crime, True Crime
Madison Burgess
