People v. Righthouse

EDMONDS, J.

The appellant in this ease pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with the crime of murder committed on May 12, 1937. Upon taking evidence concerning the circumstances of its commission, the court found it to be murder in the first degree without mitigating circumstances and judgment was imposed that the defendant suffer the penalty of death by being hanged. Upon appeal the defendant contends that at the time he committed the crime the statute prescribing hanging as the punishment for murder had been repealed and a new statute providing for execution by gas had not yet gone into effect. Consequently, so he claims, there is no method by which he may legally be executed.

For many years prior to 1937 the law of California has specified death as a punishment for murder (see. 190, Pen. Code) and required that it “be inflicted by hanging the defendant by the neck until he is dead”. (Sec. 1228, Pen. Code.) The legislature of 1937 enacted the following:

“Section 1. Section 1228 of the Penal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 1228. The punishment of death shall be inflicted by the administration of a lethal gas. See. 2. This act shall not apply to any punishment of death imposed for any crime committed prior to its effective date.” This act was approved by the Governor May 5, 1937, and became effective August 27, 1937. (Const., art. IV, sec. 1;

[88]

sec. 323, Pol. Code.) The appellant argues that the legislature by the use of the word “hereby" intended to repeal the then existing law as of the date of the enactment of the new statute. Plowever, such a construction is supported by neither reason nor authority.

It has been uniformly held in this state that a statute has no force whatever until it goes into effect pursuant to the law relating to legislative enactments. It speaks from the date it takes effect and not before. Until that time it is not a law and has no force for any purpose.

(Santa Cruz Water co.

v.

Kron,

74 Cal. 222, 223 [15 Pac. 772];

Harrison