Kathleen Scheidel – Update on Capital Punishment in California Kathleen is a Castro Valley resident who has been active in the schools (e.g., Marshall PTA, Measure G Bond Oversight Committee) and community, works for the State Public Defenders Office representing individuals charge with a crime subject to capital punishment. While she was not representing the Office today, Kathleen did provide a history and update of capital punishment in California. The 8th amendment to the U.S. Constitution addresses “cruel and unusual punishment,” but nothing in the Constitution prohibits capital punishment. Her office has 40 attorneys and numerous paralegals, but is not funded or staffed at the same level as the Attorney General’s Office