Fast forward six years. In 1978, California voters approved Proposition 7 by a whopping 70 percent. The initiative not only reinstated the state's death penalty, but also broadened the list of circumstances under which a convicted prisoner could receive a death sentence. It also increased prison terms for first and second degree murder.

And its this law that currently stands in California.

Over the last 34 years, the state has executed 13 prisoners (a 14th was convicted in California but executed in Missouri). The last execution - of Clarence Ray Allen - was back in January 2006. Currently 725 prisoners live on California's death row .

Interestingly, many of Prop 34's strongest advocates - including Jeanne Woodford, the former warden of San Quentin Prison, and Ron Briggs, the son of the state senator who led the effort to get the death penalty reinstated in 1978 - argue for repealing the death penalty largely on economic - not moral - grounds.They contend that the current system is horribly inefficient and a financial burden to the already cash-strapped state. Due to the number of legal appeals and required long-term special supervision for death row inmates, the financial costs of executing a prisoner far outweigh that of life imprisonment. Repealing the death penalty would save the state an estimated $100 million a year, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office.

But supporters of the death penalty - those in opposition to Prop 34 - argue that criminals convicted of the most heinous crimes deserve to be put to death. The death penalty deters future crime, many argue, and for the families and friends of victims, it is the only way that justice is truly served.

For more perspectives on this issue, listen to the following KQED and NPR radio stories. Also, read a list of strong arguments for and against the death penalty at procon.org.

About the filmmaker

Jazmin Jones is a filmmaker and graduate of the Bay Area Video Coalition's Digital Pathways Program. She is currently a student at City College of San Francisco.

criminal justicecriminal justice

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