Fresno Famous

Of the three scheduled California executions this year, two of the condemned were sentenced in the San Joaquin Valley. According to the California Department of Corrections, the eight-county region has convicted 78 of the 645 death row inmates, or 12%. Compare that figure to the the Valley's chunk of the overall California population, 10%. We either have a lot more grizzly murders in these parts, or our juries like to dish out the ultimate penalty more often.

The Sacramento Bee reports that the number of death sentences has actually declined over the past 10 years. Death sentences could stop altogether if the State doesn't figure out how to kill people without involving medical professionals. The execution of Michael Morales was postponed Tuesday after two anesthesiologists refused to monitor is condition after lethal injection. If the condemned is conscious while the three-drug cocktail is injected, the excruciating pain would be considered "cruel and unusual."

Now U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel has demanded that the lethal injection be administered by a licensed medical professional, and even suggested they could wear a costume to conceal their identity (like a black hood over their face). Licensed medical professionals generally try not to kill people on purpose, so Morales is safe until the judge rules again.