Janis Gay never met her grandfather. The St. Helena woman, however, has devoted a great deal of her life to a man she never knew.

Gay said her grandfather was hanged in Folsom Prison for murder when Gay’s mother was 9. Gay didn’t learn about her grandfather’s fate until she was 21. “There never was any conversation about it before that,” she said.

The knowledge that he was executed spurned Gay’s interest in the death penalty, leading to her co-chairing the Wine Country Chapter of Death Penalty Focus.

Death Penalty Focus is a nationwide organization that seeks to abolish the death penalty. Its president is actor Mike Farrell, who is most famous for starring as B.J. Hunnicutt in the legendary television sitcom “M*A*S*H.”

The Napa County chapter of Death Penalty Focus was formed about 18 months ago and has close to 30 members.

“Death Penalty Focus is dedicated to ending the death penalty in California through educating the public,” Gay said. “Education is our main focus.”

The death penalty has been the focus of intense debate in the last 30 years. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down death penalty laws in some states where it felt the legal process was not fair, and many states then took precautionary steps before reinstating a law that many believe is an important punishment for the most heinous crimes.

In 1986, Californians made a rare decision to oust a sitting California Supreme Court Justice, Rose Bird, in large part because the Bird court threw out several death sentences.

Questions have arisen about whether certain forms of execution, including lethal injection now commonly in use, are “cruel and unusual” punishment barred by the U.S. Constitution.

Gay said politics influences in decisions about capital punishment.

“The death penalty gets more attention during an election year,” she said.” Also the input from the elected district attorneys throughout the state has a great effect on the death penalty. In California in order to end the death penalty the citizens have to vote on it.”

She also said she believes race and economics play a role.

“Right now, Latinos are the No. 1 race facing the death penalty. And the poverty issue has a great impact. If you are poor and can’t afford a high-powered super attorney, you are at a much higher risk of being sentenced to death.”

The living and the dead

Although Gay was a young adult when she found out about her grandfather, she didn’t really become engaged with the subject until she reached her 40s.

“I was constantly thinking about him and especially how he died. I started really looking into the issue. I went to a conference in Sacramento, which really got me thinking about what happened to my grandfather and the effect it had on my mother and our extended family. My mother had to deal with the image of her father hanging from the end of rope,” Gay said. “The family had to deal with exile. I have many aunts, uncles and other extended family I have never met. It shatters families. I am still angry at him for what he did. I am working hard on forgiving him for what he did to our entire family.”

Gay does not believe the death penalty is a deterrent for those who commit murder.

“People who kill don’t think about the consequences of the death penalty or life in prison. Our group also does not see the death penalty as a way to honor the victims. It only creates more violence,” she said.

When a person is sentenced to death row, the pain the victims’ families have gone through during the court process doesn’t stop there.

“It actually begins all over again with the prolonged series of appeals. The family is left in limbo and is facing many, many years of court appeals, hearings and more hearings. It takes close to 20 years to execute an death row inmate. Some of the victims’ family members may not live long enough to see the execution,” Gay said.

Gay believes life in prison without the possibility of parole — the sentence recently given to Napa double-murderer Eric Copple — gives the victims’ families closure.

“Once they go to prison, it’s over. The family is released to mourn, grieve, be with their families and get on with their lives,” she said. “The death penalty just perpetuates more chaos.”

Dick Wollack is a co-chair for the Wine Country Chapter of Death Penalty Focus and served on the organization’s national board for about four years.

“I started studying the death penalty when I was in the eighth grade. I was stunned by the illogical saying as a society we don’t kill people and then the state executes people in retaliation for the crimes they have committed,” Wollack said. “I have no compassion for murderers and vile people who commit crimes, but I believe if we eliminate the death penalty it would set a moral compass.”

Wollack believes the death penalty sends the message that California condones violence. He also points out that the death penalty is far more costly to the state than housing a prisoner for life.

“There is the cost of the two trials — one to prove guilt and the next to argue for the death penalty. Then there is the huge cost of the appeals process, which can take decades,” he said.

Napa County District Attorney Gary Lieberstein does not see the death penalty as a black-and-white issue.

“I have a lot of respect for both sides of the issue,” Lieberstein said. “However I think the death penalty is appropriate is some situations.

“This is personal emotional decision for all of those involved when it comes to seeking the death penalty. It should be the most difficult decision a prosecutor has to make because it’s the ultimate sanction our criminal justice system and the people of California have.”

Right now there is a moratorium on the death penalty in California, as a federal judge has ruled the state’s lethal injection process is flawed. More than 600 prisoners are on Death Row in California.

“This has put a strain on a lot of people, especially the families of the victims whose murderer is on death row,” said Lieberstein. “Families have to go through a lot when dealing with a death sentence. There are countless hearings and the governor is the only one who has the power to grant a stay of execution at the very last moment. That’s not fair to the families of the victims and the defendant. Everyone is entitled to closure.”