SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – A California Supreme Court justice says the death penalty system in the nation’s most populous state is dysfunctional, expensive and doesn’t deliver justice in a timely way.
Associate Justice Goodwin Liu made the comments in an unusual opinion issued Thursday after the court unanimously upheld Thomas Potts’ death sentence.
He was convicted of killing an elderly couple in 1997.
But Liu wrote separately to express his concerns about the state of the death penalty system in California.
Associate Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuellar joined him in the opinion.L
iu also said a 2016 ballot measure approved by voters to speed up executions wouldn’t work without more funding.
The opinion comes two weeks after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom placed a moratorium on executions in the state.
California hasn’t executed anyone since 2006.
For live, local news, download the KRONon app. It lets you watch commercial-free the Bay Area’s Local News Station on multiple streaming devices.
Click here to subscribe for a free 7-day trial
- INFECTED VISITOR MAY HAVE EXPOSED SOUTH BAY RESIDENTS TO MEASLES
- MAP: RESTAURANTS, STORES POSSIBLY EXPOSED TO MEASLES
- WOMAN ATTACKED ON BART TRAIN, ANOTHER ROBBED 2 HOURS LATER
- SALESFORCE TOWER ANNOUNCES FREE PUBLIC TOURS OF 61ST FLOOR
- WATCH: SPRING BREAKERS TACKLE GUNMAN AT FLORIDA GAS STATION