BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was honored for his opposition to the death penalty in Beverly Hills on Sunday, one day after expressing optimism about creating "a government which works for all of us."

Sanders received the Abolition Award at the 26th annual Death Penalty Focus Awards Dinner at The Beverly Hilton for being the first presidential candidate in nearly 30 years to forcefully declare his opposition to the death penalty and playing a key role in getting the Democratic Party to adopt abolition of capital punishment as a plank in its platform, organizers said. His wife Jane presented him with the award. The dinner was organized by Death Penalty Focus, which describes itself as one of the world's largest organizations solely dedicated to the abolition of the death penalty.

Sanders and his wife Jane received the Public Servants of the Year award from the nonprofit nonpartisan public interest group Consumer Watchdog on Saturday night at the Beverly Wilshire.

In his acceptance speech, Sanders said "unless we develop a movement in this country from coast to coast which is prepared to take on oligarchy, which is prepared to take on the Trump administration and the corporate greed that is destroying the middle class ... the outcome for this country will not be good.