To the editor: Gov. Gavin Newsom’s suspension of the death penalty is not only an abuse of power and hurtful to the families of murder victims; it is also profoundly hypocritical. (“Newsom leaves the Vatican with pope’s praise for refusing to impose the death penalty,” May 19)
Albeit cumbersome, the California proposition system is democracy in its purest form — citizens voting directly on legislation. In 2016, Californians clearly expressed their views on capital punishment via Propositions 62 and 66, the former upholding the practice, and the latter speeding up the process for carrying out death sentences.
Newsom, in halting executions, ignored and dismissed the will of the voters.
This is a politician who routinely trumpets democracy and is quick to demonize conservatives for endangering it. And it’s why I cringe when he positions himself as a proponent and protector of democracy.
Can you imagine the outcry if California voters approved a proposition increasing gun control or protecting the rights of a marginalized group, and a Republican governor pulled a Newsom?
Glenn Toth, Playa del Rey
