Oct 24 2012
Proponents of Proposition 34 Cite Millions of Dollars Saved, and the Certainty of Sparing Innocent Lives
This November, California may become the 18th state in the nation to ban the death penalty if voters support Proposition 34. Passage of Prop 34 would ensure a life sentence without the possibility of parole not only for those who are awaiting sentencing but also for those people who are currently on death row. Those found guilty of murder would be put to work by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and a portion of their wages would be allocated for victims’ funds. Prop 34 would also establish a $100 million dollar fund for police to expand their investigations into rape and homicide cases.
Death Penalty Focus, is an official sponsor of Yes on 34, and other advocates include the ACLU, former LA District Attorney Gil Garcetti, the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle. Supporters feel that apart from the moral concerns of state sanctioned executions, there are major financial costs associated with carrying out a death sentence. A 2011 study indicates that California has spent approximately $4 billion to execute 13 people since the death penalty was reinstated in 1978. With Prop 34 California would save millions of dollars by reducing the number of legal and other staff who work solely on death penalty cases. The high costs of maintaining the nation’s largest death row at San Quentin prison would also be eliminated.
There has been a moratorium on using the death penalty in California since 2006 due to ‘flaws in the execution system’.
GUEST: Natasha Minsker is death penalty policy director of the ACLU of Northern California and campaign manager for the Yes on 34 campaign
Visit www.yeson34.org for more information about the pro-Prop 34 campaign.
3 Responses to “Proponents of Proposition 34 Cite Millions of Dollars Saved, and the Certainty of Sparing Innocent Lives”
Those on death row murdered at least 1,279 people, including 230 children & 43 police officers. 211 were raped, 319 robbed, 66 killed by execution, & 47 tortured. 11 murdered other inmates.
A jury of 12 people and a judge confirmed for each of these inmates that their crimes were so atrocious and they were so dangerous that they not only did not deserve to live, but they were so dangerous that the only safe recourse was the death penalty. Recognizing how dangerous these killers are, the prison houses them one person to a cell and does not provide them with work, leaving them locked in their cells most of the day.
Prop. 34 wants to ignore all of this and save money by placing these killers in less-restrictive prisons where they share cells with other inmates. They also want to provide them opportunities for work, where they have more freedom, access to other inmates and guards, and more chances to manufacture weapons.
Prop. 34 will also destroy any incentive for the 34,000 inmates already serving life without parole to kill again. There would be no death penalty under Prop. 34 and they are already serving a life sentence, so why not get a name for yourself killing another inmate or a guard?
And they refer to Prop. 34 as the SAFE Act!
Former California Department of Finance Director Michael Genest, an expert on state finances and how ballot initiatives affect the state budget, reviewed Prop 34 and said that its claims of budget savings are “grossly exaggerated.”
There is no independent, third-party study that exists which backs up any claim that eliminating the death penalty in California will save money. The “study” put forth by the Yes on Prop 34 campaign was conducted by individuals whose opposition to the death penalty is well-known. In other words, they are trying to push their own agenda.
The non-partisan California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) has studied Prop 34 and while they estimate possible savings under Prop 34, they acknowledge substantial uncertainties in their estimates and admit they could be off by “tens of millions of dollars.”
Unless murders stop, there will always be murder investigations and trials costs, whether or not there is a death penalty, and killers will continue to appeal their convictions. Prop 34 proponents never account for these costs, or the increased cost to provide housing and healthcare for death row inmates in any of their claims.
Prop. 34 proponents are unable to point to even one CA death row inmate who is “innocent” after completing his appeals or one CA execution of an innocent inmate. The appellate proceedings work to week out the “innocent” so the claim for executing an innocent in California is unsupportable.