NEWPORT BEACH – Orange County’s top law enforcement officials Wednesday made another public appeal for voters to approve a ballot initiative they say would reform the death penalty process.

Sheriff Sandra Hutchens and District Attorney Tony Rackauckas also encouraged voters to reject Proposition 62, which would abolish the ultimate punishment in California. Instead, the two favor Proposition 66, which would establish changes in the death penalty process that are aimed at speeding up adjudication of cases.

Gary and Collene Campbell, whose son Scott was murdered in 1982, and Raquel and Steve Herr, whose son was killed and later dismembered in Orange County, joined the top officials at the news conference.

Critics have argued that death row inmates languish in prisons for years until they die of natural causes, costing taxpayers additional money as their cases are repeatedly appealed. Under Proposition 62, convicted killers would get life in prison without the possibility of parole instead of death.

Proposition 66 backers say their plan would save money by speeding up the legal process and having death row inmates work while imprisoned and pay restitution to the victims’ families.

“Instead of waiting to have some attorney assigned, they do that immediately upon a death penalty judgment,” Hutchens told City News Service.

The sheriff said it’s “kind of a false argument” to say the death row process is too lengthy and, therefore, too costly.

“This (Proposition 66) is saying, `Look, we’ll make sure someone is assigned right away and the appeals are limited to five years.“’

The sheriff added, “The other argument is we have all of these people on death row and it’s costing a lot of money. Well, we can reform that. There’s another way to house these individuals.”

Life in prison without the possibility of parole is no guarantee that a defendant’s circumstances couldn’t change and eventually allow them to go free, Hutchens said.

Since 1978, 900 convicts have been sentenced to death in California, but 94 of them have died of natural causes in prison and 13 have been executed. The last execution carried out in the state was in 2006.

Executions have been in limbo since a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling requiring a medical professional to administer lethal injection drugs. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced in May it would work to guarantee none of its chemicals would be used in lethal injections, which has presented another hurdle for pro-death penalty advocates.

“We can come up with something other than the three-drug cocktail,” Hutchens said. “ I just don’t believe we can’t figure this out and do what the voters have asked us to do, what the jurors have asked us to do and what the victims’ families have been waiting for.”

The sheriff declined to provide alternatives to lethal injection, but said, “We could see what other states are doing. They’re still using the death penalty. Let’s see what other people are doing.”

Another aspect of Proposition 66 that has drawn criticism is having state Superior Court judges handle writs of habeas corpus appeals instead of federal judges. Critics say that won’t pass constitutional muster and it would overburden the state trial courts already struggling with a shortage of judges.

Separately Wednesday, California billionaire activist Tom Steyer announced his support of Proposition 62.

“The death penalty is an expensive & failed policy California can no longer afford,” Steyer said in a Tweet.

The Register contributed to this report.