November 21, 2019

Jackie Lacey
Los Angeles County
District Attorney’s Office
211 West Temple Street
Suite 1200
Los Angeles, CA 90012

To District Attorney Jackie Lacey:

We are religious leaders from Los Angeles County who have come together to call on District Attorney Jackie
Lacey to change course in her use of the death penalty. Our county has gained the dubious distinction of
sentencing individuals to death at one of the highest rates in the country. That troubles us, especially given that
our corrections system today can keep society safe without needing to resort to executions. None of us deny the
need for accountability and consequences for those guilty of grave crimes. At the same time, our criminal justice
system must recognize the dignity of every person and not close off hope and the possibility for redemption.

We were inspired by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent announcement instituting a moratorium on executions and
dismantling the death chamber. He spoke from the heart about how the death penalty system is an abject
failure, how it causes many victims’ families further harm, and how we should be “better than this” as a society.

In stark contrast is a recent report documenting Los Angeles County’s overreliance on the death penalty. Of the
over 3,000 counties nationwide, Los Angeles County was one of only four counties in the whole country to obtain
more than one death sentence in 2018 [1], and it is just one of two counties nationwide to have more than 20
death sentences in the last seven years.

The District Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles has zealously pursued the death penalty, which has put us out of
step with the rest of California and the nation. In 2016, a majority of voters from Los Angeles County supported
an initiative to repeal the death penalty [2], and a March 2019 Public Policy Institute of California poll shows that
nearly two-thirds of LA county residents prefer alternatives to the death penalty [3]. We are especially concerned
that the majority of people who receive death sentences come from some of our most vulnerable populations,
including those with severe mental illnesses, histories of childhood trauma and abuse, intellectual disabilities,
and brain injury, as well as youthful offenders who were under the age of 25 at the time of the crime.

There is evidence that the death penalty prolongs the

suffering of many murder victims’ families, since capital
cases involve years of legal uncertainty, hearings, and
frequent media headlines that can reopen old wounds.
Victims’ families spend years, and often decades, waiting
for an execution that may never come.
In addition, we believe that the death penalty is not the highest and best use of the county’s limited financial
resources. Death penalty trials are exorbitantly expensive [4], and we’d rather county funds be used to support
local programs that prevent crime, improve education and opportunities, and provide services to the families
of murder victims. And with Gov. Newsom’s moratorium, these trials are even less likely to result in executions,
making the waste of resources an even greater concern. We should use our resources to improve life, not end it.
Racial disparities in the death penalty’s application also suggest that it is being applied unjustly. Between 2013
and the present, every person sentenced to death in Los Angeles County was a person of color [5]. We are also
troubled by our state and country’s alarming rate of wrongful conviction. More than 165 people have been
released from death rows across the country, including five here in California, due to wrongful conviction. A
criminal justice system that fails to treat everyone equally, and is riddled with error, erodes trust between the
community and its officials.

In sum, excessive use of the death penalty in Los Angeles

reflects a belief that we cannot accept – that certain
offenders are beyond redemption. No matter what
someone did, they remain God’s creation and have intrinsic
value. When holding offenders accountable, our justice
system cannot lose sight of the dignity of every individual.
Change is needed in Los Angeles County to reflect this
truth.
Therefore we, the undersigned, call on District Attorney Jackie Lacey to immediately suspend use of the death
penalty in Los Angeles County and to support Gov. Gavin Newsom’s death penalty moratorium.

Respectfully,
Deacon Roland Abalos Rev. Edward Anderson Rev. Rebecca Bijur
St. Finbar Catholic Church McCarty Memorial Christian Unitarian Universalist Church
Burbank Church (Disciples of Christ) of Studio City
Los Angeles Santa Monica
Deacon Jim Allgaier
Our Lady of Deacon Arturo Barragan Rabbi Lisa Bock
Assumption (Catholic) St John the Baptist Jewish Community of Ojai
Claremont Catholic Church Ojai
Baldwin Park
Salam Al-Marayati Fr. Gregory J. Boyle, S.J.
President and Co-Founder Reverend Jamie Barnett Homeboy Industries
Muslim Public Affairs All Saints Pasadena (Episcopal) Roman Catholic
Council (MPAC) Pasadena Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Deacon Jose De Jesus Benavides Rabbi Sharon Brous
Pastor John Jay Alvaro Saint Marcellinus IKAR (Jewish)
First Baptist Church Pasadena Catholic Church Los Angeles
(American Baptist) Commerce
Pasadena Sister Kathleen Bryant
Religious Sisters of
Charity (Catholic)
Culver City
Reverend Evan Regis Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels Rabbi Avivah Erlick,
“Reegie” Bunch Beth Shir Shalom Jewish Chaplain
Pacific Southwest Region of Santa Monica Metropolitan State Hospital
the Christian Church Disciples Norwalk
of Christ Serving on the Deacon James &
Church and Society Committee Annette Crowley Deacon Robert Fargo
for the Region Assumption of the Blessed Padre Serra Parish (Catholic)
Los Angeles Virgin Mary (Catholic) Camarillo
Pasadena
Deacon Donald Burt Rabbi Emeritus
St. Lawrence Martyr (Catholic) Lead Pastor Dan Davidson Morley T. Feinstein
Torrance Rose City Church University Synagogue
(Free Methodist Church) Los Angeles
Campus Minister Pasadena
Joanna Carroll, CSJ Sister Julia M. Fetsche, CSJ
Loyola Marymount University Deacon Pedro De Leon Dolores Mission (Catholic)
(Catholic) St. Joseph Church Los Angeles
Los Angeles Catholic Church
Hawthorne The Rev. Dr. John C. Forney
Deacon Victor Ceja All Saints Episcopal Church
Our Lady of Perpetual Kathleen Domingo, Pasadena
Help (Catholic) Senior Director,
Downey Office of Life, Justice, and Rev. Larry W. Foy,
PeaceArchdiocese of Coordinator,
Rev. Jennifer Chapman Los Angeles (Roman Catholic) Interfaith Movement 4 Human
First United Methodist Church of Los Angeles Integrity/Justice Not Jails
Pasadena (Interdenominational)
Pasadena Deacon Joe Domond Los Angeles
Our Lady of the Assumption
Reverend Louis A. Chase Church (Catholic) Rabbi Laura Geller
(Retired) Claremont Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills
Holman United Methodist Los Angeles
Church Rev. Misty Jo Easton-Wise
Los Angeles Mountainside Communion Rabbi Susan Goldberg
Church (Church of Nefesh (Jewish)
Senior Rabbi Ken Chasen the Nazarene) Los Angeles
Leo Baeck Temple Glendale Diacono Jaime Guerrero
Los Angeles San Luis de Francia
Rabbi Denise L. Eger Church (Catolico)
Rabbi Aryeh Cohen Congregation Kol Ami La Puente
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action Jewish (Reform)
Los Angeles West Hollywood Deacon Tom Halliwell
St. Joseph Church (Catholic)
Rev. Dr. Matthew Colwell, Deacon Ron Elchert Long Beach
Senior Pastor St. Pius X (Catholic)
Knox Presbyterian Church Santa Fe Springs Rabbi Jonathan Hanish
Pasadena Kol Tikvah (Jewish)
Woodland Hills
Professor Christopher B. Hays
Fuller’s School of
TheologySt. Mark’s
(Presbyterian Church USA)
Altadena
Rev. Zachary Hoover
First Baptist Church of
Pasadena (American Baptist
Churches of the USA)
Pasadena
Rev. Dr. Sally Howard
All Saints Episcopal Church
Pasadena
Rabbi Jocee Hudson
Temple Israel of Hollywood
Los Angeles
Sister MaryAnne Huepper, CSJ
Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange
(Roman Catholic)
Los Angeles
Deacon Don Huntley
Our Lady of the Assumption
Church (Roman Catholic)
Ventura
President & CEO Hyepin Im
Faith and Community Empower-
ment (Nondenominational)
Los Angeles
Pastor Stephen “Cue” Jn’Marie
The Row LA, The Church Without
Walls, Skid Row
(Non-Denominational)
Los Angeles
Deacon Paulino Juarez-Ramirez
Coordinator to Assist Families
of the Incarcerated
Archdiocese of Los Angeles
(Catholic)
Los Angeles
Rabbi Cassi Kail
Temple Beth El (Reform) Rabbi Barry Lutz
San Pedro Tikkun4Change (Jewish)
Porter Ranch
Rabbi David Kasher
IKAR (Jewish) Deacon Jorge Madrigal
Los Angeles St. Margaret Mary
Parish (Catholic)
Rector Mike Kinman Lomita
All Saints Church (Episcopal)
Pasadena Deacon Steve Marsh
St. Dorothy (Roman Catholic)
Rabbi Paul Kipnes Glendora
Congregation Or Ami (Jewish)
Tarzana Pastor Sheridan McDaniel
A Place for Worship
Deacon Michael Kromm (Non-Denominational)
Holy Cross (Roman Catholic) Fullerton
Moorpark
Permanent Deacon
Sister Patricia Krommer, CSJ Chuck McDaniels Jr.
Sisters of St. Joseph of Caronde- St. Rita of Cascia
let (Roman Catholic) Parish (Catholic)
Los Angeles Arcadia
Rev. Peter Laarman Sister Angela Milioto
Justice Not Jails Religious of the Sacred Heart
(United Church of Christ) of Mary (Roman Catholic)
West Hollywood Montebello
Rabbi Keilah Lebell Catherine Minhoto,
IKAR (Jewish) Justice Coordinator,
Los Angeles Western American Province
Religious of the Sacred Heart
Sister Barbara Jean Lee, CSJ of Mary (Roman Catholic)
Sisters of St. Joseph of Montebello
Orange (Catholic)
Orange Rabbi Michelle Missaghieh
Temple Israel of Hollywood
Rabbi Leah Lewis (Reform Jewish)
Temple Menorah (Jewish) Los Angeles
Redondo Beach
Deacon Michael Morgan
Deacon Joe Lumsdaine & St. Ambrose (Catholic)
Darlene Finocchiaro Los Angeles
St. Dominic Savio Church
(Roman Catholic)
Bellflower
Co-Director Ched Myers
Bartimaeus Cooperative
Ministries (Mennonite)
Oak View
Deacon Phil Nelson
St. Thomas Aquinas (Catholic)
Ojai
Rev. Jennifer O’Malley
Holy Wisdom (Catholic)
Long Beach
Diacono Rogelio Pardo
L.A. Arquidiocesis (Catolico)
Downey
Elder Joe Paul
City of Refuge Los Angeles
(Pentacostal Assemblies
of the World)
Gardena
Sister Mary Leah Plante, RSHM
Religious of the Sacred Heart of
Mary (Roman Catholic)
Los Angeles
Deacon Carlos Porras, Jr.
St. Dominic Savio
Catholic Church
Bellflower
Dr.Victoria Randall
Professor, Department of
Practical Theology,
Azusa Pacvific University
Former Associate Pastor,
Arcadia Presbyterian Church
San Gabriel Presbytery (PCUSA)
Temple City
Deacon Neon Recuenco
Holy Family Church (Catholic)
Los Angeles
Rev. Gailen Reevers, Deacon Santiago Salas
Pastor Emeritus St. Cyprian Catholic Church
Lincoln Memorial Lakewood
Congregational Church
(United Church of Christ) Deacon Craig &
Los Angeles Ann Marie Siegman
St Margaret Mary
Deacon Tim Roberto (Roman Catholic)
St. Paul of the Cross (Catholic) Lomita
La Mirada
Pastor William D. Smart Jr.,
Stephen Rohde, President/CEO
Chair, Interfaith Communities Southern Christian Leadership
United for Justice and Peace Conference of Southern
Los Angeles California (Inter-Religious)
Los Angeles
Chaplain Greta Ronningen
The Church of Our Pastor, Rev. Daniel E. Smith
Saviour (Episcopal) West Hollywood United
San Gabriel Church of Christ
Los Angeles
Rabbi Eric Rosenstein
Temple Judea (Jewish) Diane Jean Smith,
Los Angeles JPIC Coordinator,
Sisters of St. Joseph of
Rabbi Emeritus John L. Rosove Carondelet (Catholic)
Temple Israel of Los Angeles
Hollywood (Jewish)
Los Angeles Cantor Kerith Spencer-Shapiro
University Synagogue (Jewish)
Chaplain Rita Rubin Los Angeles
Saint Camillus Catholic Church
Los Angeles Rabbi Ron Stern
Stephen Wise Temple (Jewish)
Deacon Orlando Rubio Los Angeles
Saint Camillus Catholic Church
Los Angeles Senior Minister Emeritus
Jerald M. Stinson
Sister Jane Rudolph, O.P. First Congregational Church
Dominican Sister of Mission San of Long Beach (United Church
Jose (Catholic) of Christ)
Los Angeles Long Beach
Deacon Ruben Sainz
St. Linus Catholic Church
Norwalk
Dr. Susan Stouffer, Dr. John E. Tunstall IV, Catholic Seminarian Daniel Vega
Lay Leader, Senior Pastor, St. Louise de Marillac
Church in Ocean Park Abundant Life Christian Church Catholic Church
(United Methodist) (Disciples of Christ) St. John’s Seminary (Catholic)
St. Mark’s Lutheran Los Angeles Covina
Los Angeles
Rev. Dr. Lisa Enders Tunstall, Deacon Guy Wauthy
Sister Patricia M. Suter Associate Pastor St. Jerome (Catholic)
Daughters of Charity (Catholic) McCarty Memorial Christian Los Angeles
Los Angeles Church (Disciples of Christ)
Los Angeles Rabbi Julia Weisz
Bishop John Harvey Taylor Congregation Or Ami (Jewish)
Episcopal Diocese Deacon Manuel Valencia Calabasas
of Los Angeles St Rita Parish (Catholic)
Los Angeles Sierra Madre Sister France White
Society of the Holy Child
Rev. Libby Tigner, Pastor Deacon Miguel Vargas Jesus (Catholic)
Los Altos United Church Our Lady of Pasadena
of Christ Guadalupe (Catholic)
Long Beach El Monte Lee Winkelman,
Director of Community
Cantor Hillel Tigay Deacon Roberto Vazquez Organizing, California
IKAR (Jewish) St. John Chrysostom Religious Action Center
Los Angeles Church (Catholic) of Reform Judaism
Inglewood Los Angeles
Rabbi Ronit Tsadok
IKAR (Jewish) Veda Veach,
Los Angeles Lay Servant,
Culver-Palms UMC
(United Methodist)
Culver City

Names are listed alphabetically. Titles are for identification purposes only.
Sources:
1 https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/2018-sentencing
2 https://www.lavote.net/ElectionResults/Text/3496
3 https://www.ppic.org/blog/is-momentum-growing-to-end-californias-death-penalty/
4 https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-new-study-reveals-california-has-spent-4-billion-death-penalty
5 On October 18, 2019, a jury recommended that Michael Gargiulo (white) be sentenced to death, however his sentence will not be final until the
formal sentencing proceeding scheduled for Feb. 28, 2020.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-hollywood-ripper-jury-recommends-death-penalty-for-michael-gargiulo-2019-10-18/