Xavier Becerra, a Democrat eyeing California’s gubernatorial position, has vowed to extend the state’s moratorium on the death penalty should he become governor. Becerra formerly served as the Health and Human Services Secretary under the Biden administration and was previously California’s attorney general.
His stance is a pivot from one he held in 2017, when he appeared to support the death penalty, The Los Angeles Times reports. “I support the death penalty, but I hate the way it’s being executed,” he said at the time. “If you commit some heinous crime where you have taken the life of someone else, and you knew that there was a death penalty in place in that place where you committed that crime, then you should face the punishment for what you’ve done,” he explained. “It doesn’t give me pleasure to say that, but I simply do believe there’s a simple justice in that.”
Becerra made a similar comment last year. “I do not believe every Californian has gotten a fair verdict in these fights,” he said in response to a question about the state’s moratorium. “But here is what I will tell you: We have to be aggressive in going after crime, especially the most heinous crime. … I will make sure that we have a judiciary system and a prosecution system that takes into account that we must show fairness.”
Steve Hilton, the Republican challenger for California governor, opposes the death penalty but said he would pull the moratorium. “If you’re arguing that taking a life is such a serious crime, then I don’t think responding by taking a life actually makes that argument,” he told The Times last month.
