Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: DECEMBER 2016 9 A Coast Guard patrol boat turns in front of the Statue of Liberty on a summer-like day on October 18, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) A ccording to cam- paign finance dis- closures compiled by the Califor- nia Fair Political Practices Commission, a lot of the pro-death-penalty campaign funding in California is com- ing from law enforcement and corrections officers’ as- sociations. The California Correc- tional Peace Officers As- sociation (CCPOA) alone spent $498,304 in an effort to defeat Prop. 62, which would do away with capital punishment in California. The Peace Officers Re- search Association of Cali- fornia spent $455,000 and the California Association of Highway Patrolmen donated $250,000 to the cause. In addition, many law en- forcement professionals are starring in the advertisements being aired to fight the ballot initiative. One ad features Charles Ng – a notorious serial killer who kidnapped, tortured and raped between 11 and 25 victims. The ad shows a scared young woman being ac- costed by an attacker. As the woman tries to get away, the voice-over says: “Charles Ng raped, tortured, and killed women. Murdered their babies. Killed their hus- band.” Another ad bankrolled by CCPOA features a few members of law enforcement explaining their support of the death penalty — and why voters should support it, too. “I’ve seen what the worst among us can do,” says Ser- geant Dan Cabral of the California Deputy Sheriffs’ Association in one video. “Killings so brutal that fami- lies never recover. That’s why we have the death penalty.” Despite the fact that some police officers are opposed to the death penalty (see related story on this page) capital punishment remains popular among the majority of law enforcement people and police associations. LE groups spend big to keep death penalty alive in CA Others would rather spend the money on law enforcement pay According to a recent article in the Lincoln Journal Star, a group that includes a former Lincoln police cap- tain, county attorneys and retired judges is urging vot- ers to support the Nebraska legislature’s repeal of capital punishment. The group includes a former detective who was involved with a death pen- alty case, an Omaha police officer and former Nebraska correctional officer. What’s usually lost on those that aren’t so familiar with the details of capital punishment is the incredibly high cost. In California, for example, some estimates peg the total cost of actually putting one prisoner to death (including appeals) at about $300 mil- lion. That figure comes from a senior judge, Arthur Alar- con, and a professor at Loyola law school, Paula Mitchell. So are these law enforce- ment people who don’t sup- port the death penalty soft on crime and looking to give thugs a hug? Nope. They say they’d just rather see that money spent on raises and better health care benefits for police and corrections officers. In addition, some of the law enforcement figures cited their experience with the case of the so-called Beatrice Six. That case involved six defendants who were con- victed in the 1985 rape and murder of a Beatrice woman but later exonerated. Five confessions were obtained using threats that they would be given the death penalty if they did not confess to the crime the original suspect was eventu- ally convicted of. I believe that people would be alive today if there were a death penalty. – Nancy Reagan Join over 1000 agencies communicating crime information to their citizens via CrimeReports. Visit crimereports.com/activate for more information. Get CrimeReports for free after a one-time activation fee. Email us at publicsafety@socrata.com for additional inquiries.