Washington D.C., Nov 9, 2016 / 11:52 am
The death penalty was up for a vote in California, Nebraska and Oklahoma on Tuesday, but stands against capital punishment proved unpopular with voters in all three states.
In California, Proposition 62 promised to end the death penalty and reduce death sentences to life in prison without parole.
California's Catholic bishops had strongly backed the measure.
"In a culture of death, I believe mercy alone can be the only credible witness to the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person," Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles said in September.