Governor Signs Death Penalty Bill for Drive-By Killers
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Gov. Pete Wilson, moving to recharge his flagging presidential campaign by emphasizing a strong anti-crime stand, signed legislation Wednesday that could set the stage for drive-by gunmen to receive the death penalty if their victims are killed.
“Hanging is too good” for drive-by gunmen, Wilson said at a bill-signing ceremony in Van Nuys, where he was surrounded by an entourage of police officers, community leaders and crime victims, including two men who survived a fatal restaurant drive-by shooting in Reseda on Sept. 16.
Wilson also reacted testily Wednesday when reporters asked if his GOP presidential nomination bid was on the ropes.
‘It’d be nice if those covering this would spend more time on the issues, less on inside baseball,” the governor said, while refusing to provide his own characterization of the fortunes of his latest political bid.
State Sen. Ruben Ayala (D-Chino), author of the drive-by shooting law, said he fully expects voters to approve the death penalty expansion in the statewide election next March.
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