Mar. 20, 2026
Inside the California Supreme Court's uneasy return to capital punishment
Twenty years after California's last execution, the state Supreme Court is grappling with two major death penalty challenges -- the constitutionality of the Racial Justice Act and an original writ petition arguing capital punishment violates equal protection due to racial bias.
There hasn't been a judicial execution in California for 20 years, not since Jan. 17, 2006. But for the justices of the California Supreme Court, capital punishment is very much on the docket, and on their minds.
There are 579 people condemned to death in this state.
Two major decisions face the high court: the constitutionality of the Racial Justice Act of 2020, and the fate of an audacious original writ petition by death penalty foes, filed in 2024, challenging capi...
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