No death penalty for Half Moon Bay mass shooting

The majority of San Mateo County voters are against the death penalty. The last time this issue came to voters was in 2016 with Proposition 62. Voters in the county resoundingly voted in favor of abolishing the death penalty (57.50% compared to 42.50%). Although Wagstaffe has publicly stated his views on the death penalty are evolving, he is seeking the death penalty in Mr. Zhao’s case. In 2022, he joined San Bernardino and Riverside DAs to have stays of execution lifted on five men on death row. Their motion to intervene was disqualified in the federal court, but the DAs continued to unsuccessfully appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court. DA Wagstaffe is taking these positions in opposition to most San Mateo County voters. In addition, studies show the death penalty is not an effective deterrent to reduce crime rates (states without the death penalty have lower homicide rates than states with the death penalty). And seeking the death penalty is vastly more expensive to taxpayers than life in prison, due to the length of proceedings and number of appeals.

We should not add one more person to the long list of people who have been sentenced to death. In California, there are currently 583 people awaiting execution. This is the largest death row in the nation and one of the largest in the world. In 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed a moratorium on the death penalty, but that moratorium could be lifted when his term is up. In 2021, the California Committee on Revision of the Penal Code voted unanimously to repeal the death penalty, finding capital punishment was “plagued by legal, racial, bureaucratic, financial, geographic and moral problems that have proven intractable.” Despite the moratorium and the committee’s vote, the death penalty remains legal in California and prosecutors can seek it. According to the Office of the State Public Defender, it continues to be imposed disproportionately on people of color, and on people who have experienced poverty — like Mr. Zhao — and people who have experienced childhood trauma, mental illness or intellectual disability.

The United States is out of step with its allies and other democracies in its continued use of the death penalty. More than 70% of countries have abolished capital punishment in law or practice.

The death penalty is also immoral and not supported by many faiths. While no single religious viewpoint determines law in our diverse democracy, the principles of faith communities can be relevant to standards of decency and recognizing the dignity and humanity of all people. The Roman Catholic Church has unambiguously opposed capital punishment since 2018. Christian denom­i­na­tions, includ­ing the American Baptist Churches, the Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church, all have pub­lic posi­tions oppos­ing the death penal­ty. The Unitarian Universalist Association actively advocates to abolish the death penalty. Jewish tradition upholds the sanctity of life, both the conservative and reform movements, have unequivocally opposed the death penalty. The death penalty is inconsistent with Buddhist teachings of nonviolence and compassion. The largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization in America, the Council on American Islamic Relations, has called for a moratorium on the death penalty since 2011.  

For all of these reasons, the death penalty has no place in our criminal legal system. The mass shooting in Half Moon Bay is a terrible tragedy. If convicted, Mr. Zhao can be held accountable with a life sentence. Let’s call on Wagstaffe to uphold our values by urging him to not perpetuate violence by seeking the death penalty against Mr. Zhao, which will not reduce crime rates, is needlessly expensive, and debases all of us.

Jim Lawrence is the Chair of Fixin’ San Mateo County and Chowning Poppler is a volunteer.