Schwarzenegger Still Supports Death Penalty

POSTED: 4:24 pm PST December 18, 2006

SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Monday reaffirmed his support for capital punishment in California and promised to overhaul the state's lethal injection procedure to address the criticisms leveled last week by a federal judge.

Schwarzenegger issued a statement outlining his plan to revamp California's lethal injection procedure.

On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel issued a ruling in San Jose that that the procedure was unconstitutional because it posed the risk that condemned inmates may experience excruciating pain when two of the three drugs are administered in violation of the Eighth Amendment ban on "cruel and unusual punishment."

"I am committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure that the lethal injection process is constitutional so that the will of the people is followed and the death penalty in maintained in California," Schwarzenegger said in the statement.

Fogel did not find capital punishment itself or the lethal injection method to be unconstitutional. His ruling only applies to California's current procedure, known as OP 770. He encouraged Schwarzenegger's office to develop a new procedure that addresses the concerns Fogel expressed during the past year as he has been grappling with the death penalty appeal of convicted killer and rapist Michael Morales.

"Because the court is prepared to find that the sequence of three drugs described in OP 770 when properly administered will provide for a constitutionally adequate level of anesthesia, and given that the deficiencies in the implementation of the protocol appear to be correctable, a thorough, effective response to the issues raised in this memorandum likely will enable the court to enter such a favorable judgment," Fogel wrote in his ruling.

Schwarzenegger directed his legal affairs secretary, Andrea Lynn Hoch, to work with state prison officials during the next 30 days to develop a new lethal injection procedure addressing Fogel's concerns.

Specifically, according to the statement from the governor's office, the new procedure should:

Establish a screening process for selection of execution team members and periodic review process for execution team members.

Establish a comprehensive training program for all members of the execution team so all are familiar with the drugs being used, their preparation and the risks associated with the drugs.

Develop standardized record-keeping to ensure there are complete and reliable records of each execution.

Recommend how to improve the death penalty facility at San Quentin Prison to ensure that there is adequate equipment, lighting and space for the execution team members to perform their functions and identify the best experts in other states to advise prison officials on the lethal injection protocol and its implementation.

"My administration will take immediate action to resolve court concerns which have cast legal doubt on California's procedure for carrying out the death penalty," Schwarzenegger said.

Morales, 46, was sentenced to death in 1983 for the 1981 rape and murder Lodi resident Terri Winchell, 17.