San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón expresses the right to seek the death penalty in “very heinous” cases. “I’m not going to compromise,” reported the San Francisco Examiner.
In spite of this position, Gascón does not believe the death penalty is “the right tool,” saying it has a disproportionate affect on minorities, does not bring closure to victims’ families and has a great cost financially.
Gascón is a former Republican who registered as a Democrat after being appointed district attorney earlier this year.
Golden Gate University law professor Peter Keane told the SF Examiner, “He automatically lost a chunk of San Francisco voters. According to Keane, in San Francisco there is a “hardcore” group of between 30 and 35 percent of voters who would vote against someone supporting the death penalty in any form, “no matter who’s running against them.”
