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Calif. Builds New Death Chamber, Secretly

By Jeralyn, Section Death Penalty
Posted on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 11:00:34 AM EST
Tags: death penalty (all tags)
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San Quentin prison houses 600 death row inmates, more than any other prison in the country. State legislators were surprised during a visit last month to learn that construction is almost complete on a new death chamber.

Staff members with the California Legislative Analyst's Office were made aware of the project to build a lethal injection chamber during a visit to the prison Tuesday, according to Dan Carson, director of the office's criminal justice section. The news spread Thursday to legislators after it was discussed at an oversight hearing for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's budget.

Legislative analyst staffers were "surprised" to learn the construction had started, Carson said, adding the project is "very far along."

The cost: $399,000. The figure is important because had it been $400,000., approval would have been required.

More...

Projects costing less than $400,000 can be financed out of Corrections' discretionary funds; legislators do not need to be notified of such projects.

"We are not making an assertion at this point that there was any violation of state rules," Carson said.

California has undergone extensive litigation over the adequacy of its death policy this year.

In December, U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel ruled San Quentin's 69-year-old chamber was cramped and had inadequate lighting. ...In addition to the space concerns, Fogel determined there were four other problems with the state's execution process: inconsistent and unreliable screening of execution team members; a lack of meaningful training and oversight of the execution team; inconsistent and unreliable record keeping; and improper mixing, preparation and administration of sodium thiopental, a barbiturate sedative.

As one defense attorney put it,

David Senior, one of Morales' attorneys, said a lack of communication on the chamber's construction is an example of a "lack of transparency" on the part of Corrections and the governor.

"It seems to me the press and the public should be entitled to know what's going on," Senior said. "But the fact that the state of California has decided to proceed with this cloak and secrecy in everything they do reinforces what the evidence to date has shown: that there is a lack of confidence on their end that they know what they're doing, that they have qualified people, knowledgeable people, and that they have proper facilities."

Update: More news on this here.

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    Calif. Builds New Death Chamber, Secretly | 9 comments (9 topical)

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    Ruthlessly Gross! (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 11:12:03 AM EST
    Odd how the bidding and work all came in at $399,000.00.  My husband just reminded me that's probably without the change orders.  This story has made my noodle a casserole.

    Death chamber (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by naschkatze on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 11:57:46 AM EST
    Too bad Maria doesn't have more influence on her husband.  As a Catholic, and as a member of the Kennedy family, you would expect her to be against the death penalty.  Oh wait a minute, Arnold is Catholic too. I guess he's Catholic too, but he's one of those Republican Catholics who are more Republican than Catholic.  Excuse my rant.  I'm just a Catholic who is not Repbublican and who follows the teachings of the catechism which is BTW against capital punishment.

    There are many people who (none / 0) (#3)
    by Edger on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 12:07:31 PM EST
    profess catholicism because it's useful, I've noticed. When I was about 15 I used to hitchhike outside the parking lot of a catholic church on sunday mornings because it was quick, and most leaving the church were happy to offer a ride. But invariably some would come out of the lot and yell out the window at me, or flip the finger at me, or throw pop cans at me. They usually had the fanciest cars.

    There are too many people who profess catholicism because it's politically useful, I think.

    Parent
    That (none / 0) (#8)
    by Wile ECoyote on Sun Apr 15, 2007 at 08:30:35 AM EST
    I would have to see to believe.

    Parent
    Yes, (none / 0) (#9)
    by Edger on Sun Apr 15, 2007 at 09:22:30 AM EST
    I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen it. Fortunately it was a very small number of the people from that church who did things like that, and I'm sure they were frowned upon and condemned by the rest.

    Parent
    There is something sinister (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by HK on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 02:12:31 PM EST
    about a State building an execution chamber and wanting to keep it a secret from its population.  But I guess that nothing is a surprise from State that has chronic overcrowding in prisons and yet chooses to keep a wheelchair bound 94 year old incarcerated.

    I'm hoping that someone will mention to them that a shiny new death machine will not solve all the problems inherent in capital punishment and the process of executions.  Thankfully, Dave Senior is a great lawyer and already on the case.

    Edger, I was brought up a Catholic, but have since seen the error of my ways :0)  From what I gathered, anything goes as long as you confess all on your deathbed.

    Thanks for posting this story, Jeralyn.

    This doesn't offend me and I'm a California (none / 0) (#4)
    by oculus on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 12:58:24 PM EST
    voter, resident, taxpayer, etc.  The death penalty--that's a different question.

    i disagree (none / 0) (#6)
    by cpinva on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 02:40:08 PM EST
    i'd say they knew exactly what they were doing. similar to making a cash transaction for $9,999, so technically, a CTR isn't required.

    let's face it, they're killing someone, how comfy do they need to be? if you really wanted to make it quick, none of the present methods in use do that. here, it's all about spectacle, the grand illusion of "justice" being served.

    Why give Gloria Romero another issue (none / 0) (#7)
    by oculus on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 02:44:22 PM EST
    on which to impugn the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation?  Smart PR.  

    Parent
    Calif. Builds New Death Chamber, Secretly | 9 comments (9 topical)

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