California Capital Punishment Laws
More Information on Capital Punishment Laws
| Code Section | Pen. Code §§37; 190, et seq.;§§3604, et seq.; §§3700, et seq. |
| Is Capital Punishment Allowed? | Yes, if crime is 1st degree murder with enumerated special circumstances |
| Effect of Defendant's Incapacity | If defendant found insane at any time prior to execution, the execution is suspended. Upon recovery, execution is rescheduled |
| Minimum Age | 18 |
| Available for Crimes Other than Homicide? | Treason |
| Definition of Capital Homicide | Murder committed for financial gain; previously convicted of first/second degree murder; multiple murders in same proceeding; bomb, explosives, grave risk; for purposes of avoiding lawful arrest or attempt to escape lawful custody; murder intentional and involved the infliction of torture; intentional killing of peace officer, federal law officer/agent, fireman in performance of duties, and defendant should have known or knew official status of victim; victim was a juror in any court of record in local, state, or federal system in any state and the murder was intentionally carried out in retaliation or prevention of the victim's official duties; the murder was intentional and perpetrated by means of a firearm being discharged from a motor vehicle intentionally at another outside the vehicle with intent to kill; witness of crime intentionally killed to prevent retaliatory testimony at criminal proceeding; retaliation against judge or former judge of this state or any other state, prosecutor, etc.; state officials or officials of any local government of this state or any other state for reasons relating to their office; lying in wait; especially cruel, atrocious, heinous; racial; committed along with robbery, kidnapping, rape, sodomy, oral copulation, burglary, performance of a lewd act upon a child under the age of 14; arson, train wrecking; carjacking; intentionally poisoned; mayhem; rape by instrument; member of a street gang murdering to further activities of the gang |
| Method of Execution | Lethal gas or lethal injection, but if defendant fails to choose, lethal injection |
Note: State laws are constantly changing -- contact an attorney or conduct your own legal research to verify the state law(s) you are researching.
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