California campaigners hope to see death penalty abolished on election day

Polls show that voters are divided over the fate of the state capital - and the 724 prisoners currently on death row

advocates the death penalty are preparing for what they hope will be their biggest victory of an entire generation, such as California enters the final week of the campaign through a bill for the abolition of the state capital and close to the largest online mortality in the country.

referendum in California at the end of the death penalty is being closely watched in the United States as perhaps the most important point of inflection from the United States Supreme Court has temporarily prohibits executions in 1972. A "yes" to Proposition 34, November 6 give a boost to the abolitionists and send shock waves through the 32 other states that offer the ultimate punishment.

California, by far the largest number of death row. It has 724 death row inmates, almost double the next highest, Texas with 407.

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/ Los Angeles Times poll supporters of Proposition 34 on 42%, just three points below those that maintain the death penalty in place. It is within the margin of error, which suggests a statistical link.

The proposed deletion is supported by several high profile people and organizations, including the conservative Fox News broadcaster Bill O'Reilly and most of the major news agencies in California. One of the promoters of this initiative is Jeanne Woodford, former warden of San Quentin, near San Francisco, where death row in California.

Woodford told the Guardian that after more than 30 years in the state criminal justice system, which had concluded that the death penalty was indefensible. "It is broken and ineffective. Improvement of public safety to provide or improve our social morality in any way. "

During his time as director of San Quentin, who presided over four executions, including that of Robert Lee Massie who was sentenced to death in 2001 for two separate murders "voluntarily" to die for refusing to monitor calls.

"In fact, Massie execution took place because they wanted to live," said Woodford. "So I helped him with his suicide -. It is too much to ask a public official, and any other condition that is not considered appropriate"

Woodford added that it was only after he retired as director that the total impact of having effectively acted as executioner struck four times. "I will not let me destroy it as I decided to do something to end this policy -. When he was not working towards something positive could eat off of me "

Before the vote, the abolition campaign, Yes on 34, was severely ads radio and television throughout California. The TV spot is narrated by actor Martin Sheen and Hollywood tells the story of Franky Carrillo, who spent two decades on death row for a murder he did not commit.

• activists have implemented several arguments in an attempt to attract voters to the abolitionist cause. Besides the moral argument that the death penalty can lead to innocent people, as Carrillo is placed in the corridor of death, they drive a more pragmatic line financial could call these tough economic times.

A recent study conducted by a senior judge concluded that the death penalty in California costs an additional year of $ 184ma above and beyond what would be the expenses were sentenced to death and all closed displaced residents to life without parole - the alternative presented by Proposition 34. The total cost of the death penalty for taxpayers in California, including the inflated cost of capital trials, strengthen security prison and endless litigation and appeals, was set to 4 billion since 1978.

savings that could be made by the transition to life in prison allow an additional year of $ 100 million will be allocated to the investigation of a serious crime in a state in which an astonishing 46% of homicides and 56% of outstanding offenses. The rate increased clarification of these crimes would be a more effective deterrent, supporters of the proposal believe that keeping people in death row for many years with little to show for it - were only 13 executions California since 1967, and this practice has been legally suspended since 2006.

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