For the second straight General Election, California voters may be asked to repeal the death penalty. Signature-gathering is underway for a proposal that would, again, substitute life imprisonment without parole as the ulitmate punishment. Nevada County District Attorney Cliff Newell opposes the effort. He says it is still appropriate in some cases and polls continue to show public support for a death row…

click to listen to Cliff Newell

Since the death penalty was reinstated, in 1977, more than 900 murderers have been sentenced to death. Only 13 have been executed, with the last one in 2006. Proponents of the new inititiative, led by actor Mike Farrell, call the death penalty a, quote, “empty promise” that drains public resources. But Newell says rather than abolish the law, it can be fixed fairly easily, starting with no automatic appeals to the State Supreme Court…

click to listen to Cliff Newell

Newell says he can’t recall the death penalty being applied in Nevada County in modern times. In 2012, voters rejected repealing the death penalty by a 52 to 48-percent margin.