The death penalty is on the ballot in 3 states
Along with gun control and legalizing marijuana, voters in several states will be able to weigh in on capital punishment this year.
In California, Proposition 62 would eliminate the death penalty and instead make the maximum criminal sentence life in prison without opportunity for parole. Conversely, Proposition 66 would keep the death penalty and abbreviate prisoners' appeal process. If both pass, the measure with more "yes" votes becomes law.
In Nebraska, voters are asked to consider Referendum 426, in which — somewhat confusingly — voting to repeal would bring back the death penalty by repealing a current death penalty ban. And in Oklahoma, State Question 776 will guarantee the state the power to execute people in the manner of its choosing if approved.
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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
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