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Politics

Brown Coy On Death Penalty Initiative

Gov. Jerry Brown speaks at the annual Crime Victims United rally at the State Capitol Tuesday.
Ben Adler
Gov. Jerry Brown speaks at the annual Crime Victims United rally at the State Capitol Tuesday.

California Governor Jerry Brown isn’t tipping his hand on how he’ll vote on the newly-qualified November ballot measure that would overturn the death penalty. “The voters are going to have to decide. But I will tell you this, and this is my pledge: Whatever the voters decide, you can be sure I will carry out the law without fear or favor, and with fidelity to the will of the people," said Brown.

The governor spoke at an annual rally at the state Capitol today for crime victims sponsored by leading supporters of the death penalty. Before he spoke, he listened as speaker after speaker criticized the initiative that qualified yesterday.

Earlier in the day, he told reporters in San Jose that it’s a “good thing” the measure will be on the ballot because it’s a “very important issue.” He went on to say that “death and taxes are things we can’t avoid, so it’s good that people get to weigh in occasionally.”