RIVERSIDE – The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office opposes efforts led by the Office of the State Public Defender and the ACLU to declare the death penalty unconstitutional in California. This stance was taken in response to the ongoing case, Office of the State Public Defender v. Bonta, currently under consideration by the California Supreme Court.
On May 6, the DA’s Office filed a preliminary opposition to the petition by the Office of the State Public Defender and the ACLU.
“The claims put forth by the Public Defender’s Office and the ACLU regarding racial disparities in California's death penalty sentences are based on unreliable statistics and demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of our criminal justice system,” said District Attorney Mike Hestrin. “Desp
