The Death Penalty is a Shameful Waste of Taxpayers' Money

Chair of the California Commission, John Van De Kamp, at the press conference on June 30, 2008

A new report by the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice has found that the death penalty costs California taxpayers $137 million dollars each year. This is a shameful waste of California's scarce public safety resources -- and our tax dollars.

The Commission concluded that replacing the death penalty with permanent imprisonment would save our state more than $125 million dollars each year.

This is money that could be spent on more effective violence prevention programs and other services that would actually make our communities safer, such child abuse prevention programs, drug and alcohol treatment, mental health care, education, and services for victims of crime. The death penalty is failed public policy, let's end the charade. 

An op-ed by DPF Board Member Nancy Oliveira published in the San Francisco Chronicle yesterday explored better uses for our tax dollars. It was accompanied by an excellent chart. 

So did a KQED perspectives piece by Judy Kerr, CCV's Victim Liaison and Spokesperson.