The End of the Death Penalty with Stephen Rohde

On March 13, Governor Gavin Newsom granted reprieves to all 737 inmates on California’s death row—the largest in America. This action blocks executions while he is in office. But the death penalty is still on the books and the battle for abolition goes on.

In announcing the moratorium, Newsom called the death penalty a failure. “It has provided no public safety benefit or value as a deterrent. It has wasted billions of taxpayer dollars. But most of all, the death penalty is absolute, irreversible and irreparable in the event of a human error.” Sen Kamala Harris praised Newsom’s decision, calling the death penalty “immortal, discriminatory, ineffective, and a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars.”

Growing numbers in the U.S. agree. Twenty states and the District of Columbia have now banned the death penalty, recognizing what every other civilized nation in the world has realized. 

Join ICUJP Chair Stephen Rohde, an outspoken death penalty opponent, for a comprehensive look at the fatal flaws in the capital punishment system and the growing abolition movement in California and across the country. Learn what you can do to end state killing.

Stephen Rohde is a constitutional scholar, lecturer, writer and political activist. He represented a death row inmate and was part of the clemency team for Stanley Tookie Williams. A founder and current Chair of Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace, Stephen has served on the Board of Directors of Death Penalty Focus for 20 years. He is the author of two books, American Words of Freedom: The Words That Define Our Nation and Freedom of Assembly, and coauthor of Foundations of Freedom: A Living History of Our Bill of Rights.