Millions Towards Death

Blog #1

The death penalty is a social problem that affects all of society. California’s death penalty is a social problem because in California, inmates can remain on death row for decades. This can be because of factors that extend the complex judicial process for capital cases.  Regardless if a person knows someone on death row or not, California tax payers pay for the death penalty. It is cheaper for us to incarcerate inmates for life than it is to execute them. Therefore, as a taxpayer of California, we should consider alternate forms of punishment for these felony offenders.

 According to the Los Angeles Times in 2005, California taxpayers pay more than $114 million each year post-trial seeking execution of the people currently on death row (1). Not only does the Attorney General devote 15% of his budget ($11 million) to death penalty cases annually, but also the Supreme Court spends about $11.8 million on appointed counsel for death row inmates (1). Another issue some of society has with the death penalty is that there is always the possibility that we may wrongfully convict a person. Since 1976, approximately eighty two inmates have been released from death row because they were found to be wrongfully convicted (2).

1. "California Taxpayers Fund Executions." New York Times. 2005.

2. "Reasons to be Against the Death Penalty." September 16, 2010. http//www.antideathpenalty.org/reasons.html