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"California can't afford the death penalty"

By Douglas A. Berman

The title of this post is the headline of this op-ed authored by a former California Attorney General and district attorney, John Van de Kamp.  Here is how the opinon piece starts: There are many reasons why people object to the death penalty. Opponents point to the ever-present risk of wrongful conviction.  They note that there's bias against people of color and low-income defendants, as well as geographic disproportionality in its administration.  And there's the fact that most other civilized societies around the world have concluded that it should be abolished. But these days, there's also a strong economic argument for doing away with capital punishment. With California facing its most severe fiscal crisis in recent memory -- with draconian cuts about to be imposed from Sacramento that will affect every resident of the state -- it would be crazy not to consider the fact that it will add as much as $1 billion over the next five years simply to keep the death penalty on the books...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on June 10, 2009 (boomark / email).