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Chapter 1. Executing Death Penalty of California Penal Code >> Title 3. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 1.

(a) Every male person, upon whom has been imposed the judgment of death, shall be delivered to the warden of the California state prison designated by the department for the execution of the death penalty, there to be kept until the execution of the judgment, except as provided in subdivision (b).
  (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law:
  (1) A condemned inmate who, while in prison, commits any of the following offenses, or who, as a member of a gang or disruptive group, orders others to commit any of these offenses, may, following disciplinary sanctions and classification actions at San Quentin State Prison, pursuant to regulations established by the Department of Corrections, be housed in secure condemned housing designated by the Director of Corrections, at the California State Prison, Sacramento:
  (A) Homicide.
  (B) Assault with a weapon or with physical force capable of causing serious or mortal injury.
  (C) Escape with force or attempted escape with force.
  (D) Repeated serious rules violations that substantially threaten safety or security.
  (2) The condemned housing program at California State Prison, Sacramento, shall be fully operational prior to the transfer of any condemned inmate.
  (3) Specialized training protocols for supervising condemned inmates shall be provided to those line staff and supervisors at the California State Prison, Sacramento, who supervise condemned inmates on a regular basis.
  (4) An inmate whose medical or mental health needs are so critical as to endanger the inmate or others may, pursuant to regulations established by the Department of Corrections, be housed at the California Medical Facility or other appropriate institution for medical or mental health treatment. The inmate shall be returned to the institution from which the inmate was transferred when the condition has been adequately treated or is in remission.
  (c) When housed pursuant to subdivision (b) the following shall apply:
  (1) Those local procedures relating to privileges and classification procedures provided to Grade B condemned inmates at San Quentin State Prison shall be similarly instituted at California State Prison, Sacramento, for condemned inmates housed pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 3600. Those classification procedures shall include the right to the review of a classification no less than every 90 days and the opportunity to petition for a return to San Quentin State Prison.
  (2) Similar attorney-client access procedures that are afforded to condemned inmates housed at San Quentin State Prison shall be afforded to condemned inmates housed in secure condemned housing designated by the Director of Corrections, at the California State Prison, Sacramento. Attorney-client access for condemned inmates housed at an institution for medical or mental health treatment shall be commensurate with the institution's visiting procedures and appropriate treatment protocols.
  (3) A condemned inmate housed in secure condemned housing pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be returned to San Quentin State Prison at least 60 days prior to his scheduled date of execution.
  (4) No more than 15 condemned inmates may be rehoused pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b).
  (d) Prior to any relocation of condemned row from San Quentin State Prison, whether proposed through legislation or any other means, all maximum security Level IV, 180-degree housing unit facilities with an electrified perimeter shall be evaluated by the Department of Corrections for suitability for the secure housing and execution of condemned inmates.
Every female person, upon whom has been imposed the judgment of death, shall be delivered to the warden of the Central California Women's Facility, there to be held pending decision upon appeal.
Upon the affirmance of her appeal, the female person sentenced to death shall thereafter be delivered to the warden of the California state prison designated by the department for the execution of the death penalty, not earlier than three days before the day upon which judgment is to be executed; provided, however, that in the event of a commutation of sentence said female prisoner shall be returned to the Central California Women's Facility, there to be confined pursuant to such commutation.
The judgment of death shall be executed within the walls of the California State Prison at San Quentin.
(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.
  (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. 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).
(a) The warden of the state prison where the execution is to take place shall be present at the execution and shall, subject to any applicable requirement or definition set forth in subdivision (b), invite the presence of the Attorney General, the members of the immediate family of the victim or victims of the defendant, and at least 12 reputable citizens, to be selected by the warden. The warden shall, at the request of the defendant, permit those ministers of the Gospel, not exceeding two, as the defendant may name, and any persons, relatives or friends, not to exceed five, to be present at the execution, together with those peace officers or any other Department of Corrections employee as he or she may think expedient, to witness the execution. But no other persons than those specified in this section may be present at the execution, nor may any person under 18 years of age be allowed to witness the execution.
  (b) (1) For purposes of an invitation required by subdivision (a) to members of the immediate family of the victim or victims of the defendant, the warden of the state prison where the execution is to take place shall make the invitation only if a member of the immediate family of the victim or victims of the defendant so requests in writing. In the event that a written request is made, the warden of the state prison where the execution is to take place shall automatically make the invitation 30 days prior to the date of an imminent execution or as close to this date as practicable.
  (2) For purposes of this section, "immediate family" means those persons who are related by blood, adoption, or marriage, within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity.
  (c) No physician or any other person invited pursuant to this section, whether or not employed by the Department of Corrections, shall be compelled to attend the execution, and any physician's attendance shall be voluntary. A physician's or any other person's refusal to attend the execution shall not be used in any disciplinary action or negative job performance citation.
After the execution, the warden must make a return upon the death warrant to the clerk of the court by which the judgment was rendered, showing the time, mode, and manner in which it was executed.