(a)The punishment of death shall be inflicted by the administration of a lethal gas or by an intravenous injection of a substance or substances in a lethal quantity sufficient to cause death, by standards established under the direction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
(b)Persons sentenced to death prior to or after the operative date of this subdivision shall have the opportunity to elect to have the punishment imposed by lethal gas or lethal injection. This choice shall be made in writing and shall be submitted to the warden pursuant to regulations established by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. If a person under sentence of death does not choose either lethal gas or lethal injection within 10 days after the warden’s service upon the inmate of an execution warrant issued following the operative date of
this subdivision, the penalty of death shall be imposed by lethal injection.
(c)Where the person sentenced to death is not executed on the date set for execution and a new execution date is subsequently set, the inmate again shall have the opportunity to elect to have punishment imposed by lethal gas or lethal injection, according to the procedures set forth in subdivision (b).
(d)Notwithstanding subdivision (b), if either manner of execution described in subdivision (a) is held invalid, the punishment of death shall be imposed by the alternative means specified in subdivision (a).
(e)The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or any successor agency with the duty to execute judgments of death, shall maintain at all times the ability to execute such judgments.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
32
cases (
3 in the last 5 years), 1983–2022 · leading case:
Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35 (2008).
Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35 (2008).
· cites it 4× “180 (2006), lethal gas, see Cal.Penal Code Ann. § 3604 (West 2000); Mo.”
Sims v. Dep't of Corr. & Rehab., 216 Cal. App. 4th 1059 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).
· cites it 7× “(Pen. Code, § 3604, subd. (b).) The responsibility to develop procedures for administering both forms of execution lies with the CDCR.”
Fierro v. Gomez, 865 F. Supp. 1387 (N.D. Cal. 1994).
· cites it 8× “The sentence was carried out pursuant to California Penal Code section 3604, which at the time of that execution provided: § 3604.”
Provenzano v. Moore, 744 So. 2d 413 (Fla. 1999).
· cites it 5× “1998) (defendant sentenced to death for offense committed prior to date of amended statute shall choose either lethal injection or lethal gas; execution by lethal injection if the defendant fails to choose method); Cal.Penal Code § 3604(b) (West Supp.1999) (same); S.”
Kevin Cooper v. Gavin Newsom, 13 F.4th 857 (9th Cir. 2021).
· cites it 2× “Under California law, that authority is assigned to the Attorney General, who has represented the defendants in this case since its inception.”
Nance v. Ward, 597 U.S. 159 (2022).
“2021); Cal. Penal Code Ann. §3604(a) (West Supp.”
People v. Berryman, 864 P.2d 40 (Cal. 1993).
“) In his opening brief, defendant raised the contention that this method of execution amounts to “cruel and unusual punishment[]” within the meaning of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution and/or “[cjruel or unusual punishment” within the meaning of article I,…”
In re: FBOP Execution Protocol Cases, 955 F.3d 106 (D.C. Cir. 2020).
“, Cal. Penal Code § 3604 (a), (d) (1994) (“manner of execution” is either by “lethal gas” or “intravenous injection of a substance or substances in a lethal quantity sufficient to cause death”); La.”
Jones v. State, 701 So. 2d 76 (Fla. 1997).
· cites it 2× “While that case was on appeal to the United States Supreme Court, the California Legislature responded by enacting California Penal Code Section 3604 (West 1996), which allows both current and future death-row inmates to choose the means by which death is to be administered,…”
Fierro v. Gomez, 77 F.3d 301 (9th Cir. 1996).
· cites it 5× “§ 1983 , alleging that California’s method of execution statute, Cal.Penal Code § 3604, violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.”
Cooper v. Rimmer, 379 F.3d 1029 (9th Cir. 2004).
· cites it 3× “Cal.Penal Code § 3604, amended by Stats.1992, c.”
State v. Webb, 750 A.2d 448 (Conn. 2000).
“§ 5-4-617 (Michie 1993); California, Cal. Penal Code § 3604 (Deering 1999); Colorado, Colo.”
— Cal. Penal Code § 3604(a) — 2 cases
Nance v. Ward, 597 U.S. 159 (2022).
“2021); Cal. Penal Code Ann. §3604(a) (West Supp.”
— Cal. Penal Code § 3604(b) — 7 cases
Provenzano v. Moore, 744 So. 2d 413 (Fla. 1999).
“1998) (defendant sentenced to death for offense committed prior to date of amended statute shall choose either lethal injection or lethal gas; execution by lethal injection if the defendant fails to choose method); Cal.Penal Code § 3604(b) (West Supp.1999) (same); S.”
Fierro v. Gomez, 865 F. Supp. 1387 (N.D. Cal. 1994).
“The sentence was carried out pursuant to California Penal Code section 3604, which at the time of that execution provided: § 3604.”
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