Tell DA Lacey to Stop Seeking the Death Penalty

In March 2019, Governor Newsom enacted a moratorium suspending the death penalty. But Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey has continued to use it.

That’s not only confusing, but it’s also downright wrong.

Since Lacey took office in 2012, 22 defendants have received death sentences – all of whom are people of color and nearly half of whom had counsel with serious misconduct charges.

L.A. has sent more people to death row than any other county in the U.S. While death sentencing is plummeting in the rest of the country, Lacey is responsible for L.A. being one of only three counties in the country to have more than 10 death sentences from 2014 to 2018. L.A. is one of a few counties that continue to heavily use the death penalty, preventing the permanent wiping out of this discriminatory punishment.

Continuing to seek the death penalty in L.A. is a waste of taxpayer dollars, out of step with the values and demands of voters, and morally wrong. As long as Lacey continues to seek the death penalty, more people will suffer from a system that discriminates on the basis of race, income, and access to a quality attorney.

It's high time that DA Lacey got the message: Stop sentencing people to death.