California's 1972 and 1978 Death Penalty Initiatives

Yes on Death: California’s 1972 and 1978 Death Penalty Initiatives Ryan Kuchinski Honors Thesis Submitted to the Department of History, Georgetown University Advisor: Professor Marcia Chatelain Honors Program Chairs: Professors Amy Leonard and Katherine Benton-Cohen 8 May 2017 Kuchinski 1 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... 3 Glossary ......................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 6 Historiography ...................................................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 1: Allowing Death:Proposition 17’s Amendment to the State Constitution to Allow for Capital Punishment .............................................................................................................. 23 Early Arguments- From Anderson to Proposition 17’s Ballot Qualification .................................. 24 A Two-Pronged Approach- The Legislative and Petition Approaches .............................................. 26 A Victory and a Defeat ....................................................................................................................... 30 A Debate Without a Number- Developments During the Summer Months .................................... 32 Official Arguments on Proposition 17 ................................................................................................. 33 Arguments in the Voter Information Guide ....................................................................................... 35 Newspaper Ads ................................................................................................................................... 38 Pro- Proposition 17 Movie ................................................................................................................. 41 Popular Sentiment- Public Figures ..................................................................................................... 42 Popular Sentiment- Newspapers ......................................................................................................... 44 Editorials ............................................................................................................................................. 45 Opinion Articles ................................................................................................................................. 46 Letters to the Editor ............................................................................................................................ 48 Popular Sentiment- Polls and Results ................................................................................................. 49 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 51 Chapter 2: Implementing Death: The 1973 and 1977 Death Penalty Laws .......................... 53 The 1973 Death Penalty Law ............................................................................................................... 54 The Specifics of the Bill ..................................................................................................................... 54 The Main Argument: The Will of the People ..................................................................................... 57 Opposition Arguments: Deterrence and Humanistic Reasoning ........................................................ 62 The Role of the African-American Community ................................................................................. 64 1976: Gregg v. Georgia and Rockwell v. Superior Court .................................................................... 67 Gregg v. Georgia ................................................................................................................................ 67 Rockwell v. Superior Court ................................................................................................................ 68 The 1977 Death Penalty Law ............................................................................................................... 69 The Bill ............................................................................................................................................... 70 Two Moves through the Legislature ................................................................................................... 72 Arguments in Favor ............................................................................................................................ 78 Arguments Against ............................................................................................................................. 81 The Push for an Initiative ................................................................................................................... 84 Chapter 3: Strengthening Death: Proposition 7 and a Broader Death Penalty .................... 87 The Proposed Law and Official Arguments ....................................................................................... 89 The Proposed Law .............................................................................................................................. 90 Official Arguments for Proposition 7 ................................................................................................. 92 Official Arguments Against Proposition 7 ......................................................................................... 95 Popular Sentiment- Newspapers ......................................................................................................... 97 Editorials and Opinion Pieces ............................................................................................................ 99 Letters to the Editor .......................................................................................................................... 102 The Los Angeles Sentinel ................................................................................................................. 103 Kuchinski 2 Popular Sentiment- Polls and Results ............................................................................................... 105 Pre-Election Polls ............................................................................................................................. 105 Results .............................................................................................................................................. 106 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 107 Conclusion and Epilogue: Death’s Challenges ....................................................................... 108 Epilogue ............................................................................................................................................... 110 Appendix 1: Timeline of California Death Penalty Events in the 1970s .............................. 115 Appendix 2: Chart Comparing “Law and Order” to “Tough on Crime”……………...…116 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 117 Primary Sources .................................................................................................................................. 117 Secondary Sources .............................................................................................................................. 125 Kuchinski 3 Acknowledgements Thank you to my girlfriend, Alyssa Russell. I would not have written this history thesis if not for discussions with you. I was already writing a government thesis and was not sure if I wanted to write a history thesis, but talking it over with you reminded me of my love of history. You have also been a constant source of encouragement and constructive criticism throughout the entire process. I still remember the day we sat at Gravelly Point in the summer of 2016 and discussed our theses for the first time. You gave me confidence in my choice of topic and have continued to do so throughout the entire process. You always were willing to edit my work and discuss my ideas. More than anyone else, I could not have written this thesis without you. Thank you to my family and friends. Every time you listened to me explain my argument, it further refined my thesis. You also provided emotional support that helped me carry on through the toughest times. Finally, thank you for your editing help. You especially helped me refine my language. A special thanks to Addie for always having synonyms and alternate wording at the ready. Thank you to many professors at Georgetown: To Professor Katherine Benton-Cohen, thank you for all of your feedback. You were always the person who was most skeptical of my argument, and that skepticism drove me to make the strongest argument possible. Beyond that, you always provided valuable feedback on aspects to better explain, things that could be added, and things that could be cut. You helped improve not only my thesis but also my analytical and writing

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