Calif. Voters To Decide On Death Penalty

An initiative that would abolish the death penalty in favor of life without parole has qualified for the November ballot in California.

If successful, the initiative would make the state the 18th in the nation to ban capital punishment. In the past five years, four states have abolished the death penalty with Connecticut soon to follow.

California has executed 13 inmates in 23 years, reports the Los Angeles Times .

The death penalty has been abolished in Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, West Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, and Rhode Island.