Death penalty supporters seek to speed up executions

San Quentin State Prison in California, where more than 740 inmates are on death row, April 30, 2014. A federal appeals court is soon to weigh in on a lower courtâ€™s ruling which held the stateâ€™s death penalty system to be unconstitutional on grounds that it was applied so arbitrarily as to amount to cruel and unusual punishment. (Max Whittaker/The New York Times) less San Quentin State Prison in California, where more than 740 inmates are on death row, April 30, 2014. A federal appeals court is soon to weigh in on a lower courtâ€™s ruling which held the stateâ€™s ... more Photo: Max Whittaker, New York Times Photo: Max Whittaker, New York Times Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Death penalty supporters seek to speed up executions 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Death penalty supporters got the state’s go-ahead Thursday to collect signatures for a November 2016 ballot measure aimed at speeding up executions, raising the prospect that voters will be asked to choose between toughening California’s death penalty law and repealing it.

The new initiative would require the state Supreme Court to rule on capital cases within five years. It would also limit death penalty appeals, set strict deadlines for filing appeals and seek to expand the pool of death penalty lawyers. Any attorney who now accepts court appointments to represent impoverished defendants in criminal cases would also have to take on capital cases, regardless of experience.

Another provision would eliminate the currently required public comment period before the state can approve a new single-drug execution method, which officials have proposed to replace the current three-drug executions.

Supporters of the measure say it would reduce by at least half the period, typically 25 years or more, needed to resolve death penalty appeals in California. Opponents disagree, noting that the initiative would not add funding for death penalty lawyers or court staff.

A rival initiative to repeal the death penalty and replace it with life imprisonment without parole was cleared for circulation last month. A similar repeal measure was defeated by four percentage points in November 2012.

Both initiatives need 365,880 signatures of registered voters in 180 days to qualify for the ballot. Sponsors of the new initiative have raised more than $1 million so far and expect to collect the needed signatures, said Charles Bell, a lawyer for the campaign.

California, which has nearly 750 condemned prisoners, conducted its last execution in January 2006, before a federal judge ruled that defects in lethal injection procedures and staff training created an unacceptable risk of a botched and agonizing execution.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko