Timothy Joseph McGhee at his sentencing in 2009. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Timothy Joseph McGhee boasted in rap lyrics about his hatred of police and his love for killing.

He was convicted of attempted murder for a July 4, 2000, ambush of two LAPD officers who were chasing Toonerville gang members. He laughed in the courtroom when he was sentenced to die in January 2009. He has been awaiting execution on death row at San Quentin State Prison.

On August 30, prison officials said he used a handmade weapon to attack two guards as they returned him to his cell from a shower. The guards received cuts and wounds on their heads, necks and arms.

Voters would do well to remember McGhee in November when they consider Proposition 34. This proposition would eliminate the death penalty in California and replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Californians approved the death penalty in 1978. California is one of 33 states authorizing it. A Field Poll conducted in 2011 showed that 68 percent of Californians approved of execution as a punishment. Now, the attempt to overturn the death penalty – orchestrated by the ACLU and its allies – as a budget-saving measure is an outrageous insult to crime victims and their families.

San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos makes perhaps the best case for retaining the death penalty: “Whether or not to seek the death penalty is probably one of the most serious decisions I have to make as a district attorney. I have nothing but respect for the entire process, and just as much respect for our victims and their families who didn’t have a choice. They didn’t get to say goodbye to family members.”

Vote NO on 34. For more information visit voteno34.org.

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