Becerra Backs Newsom's Death Penalty Moratorium After Botched Execution

California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra's campaign has stated he continues to support Gov. Gavin Newsom's moratorium on executions, a position reiterated in the wake of a botched lethal injection in Tennessee that left inmate Christa Pike in critical condition.

California currently has 564 inmates on death row. The state has not carried out an execution since 2006. Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions in 2019, a move Becerra's campaign referenced when asked about his stance on the death penalty.

"Governor Newsom’s death penalty moratorium represented an important step toward a more just criminal justice system," a spokesperson for Becerra told The Post, referencing a May tweet from the candidate. "As Governor, I will extend California’s moratorium on executions and continue moving our state away from a costly, flawed system that disproportionately impacts Black and brown communities and too often gets it wrong."

The controversy surrounding the death penalty resurfaced after Pike's scheduled execution in Tennessee on Wednesday failed. After being administered two doses of the sedative Pentobarbital, Pike, who was convicted of the 1995 torture and murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, was rushed to the hospital and remained unconscious. Her lawyer stated she was critically ill but not in a coma as of Thursday afternoon.

Newsom's office reiterated the governor's stance, characterizing the death penalty as discriminatory and financially burdensome when he initially signed the executive order pausing executions. "Governor Newsom has been clear about his position on the death penalty since his first year in office, when he ordered a moratorium on executions," a representative for the governor said.

Despite the moratorium, California prosecutors can still seek the death penalty, and more than 200 individuals have been sentenced to death since the last execution in 2006, according to CalMatters.

Historically, California has housed numerous high-profile death row inmates, including Scott Peterson, convicted in 2004 of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci Peterson, and serial killer Charles Ng, who was convicted of 11 murders. Peterson's death sentence was overturned in 2020, and he was resentenced to life without parole.

In 2016, California voters rejected Proposition 62, which aimed to abolish the death penalty, and instead approved Proposition 66, intended to expedite the execution process. A Republican challenger, Steve Hilton, has stated that while he is personally against the death penalty, he would not extend the moratorium, citing voters' previous decisions.