May 21st, 2009
Posted by Natasha Minsker, Death Penalty Policy Director, ACLU of Northern California at 4:52pm	Capital Punishment

Save $1 Billion in Five Years — End the Death Penalty in California

In the market for a prime piece of real estate? Governor Schwarzenegger has the deal for you! Facing a $21.3 Billion budget deficit in California, Schwarzenegger has offered to sell state-owned property to make up the difference. The crown jewel of the proposed fire sale is San Quentin State Prison, home to California’s death row and beautifully situated in the San Francisco Bay.

But before he can flip San Quentin for a profit, Gov. Schwarzenegger will have to figure out what to do with the 680 condemned inmates who currently call it home. Fortunately, there is a solution. The best way to solve California’s budget woes would be to do away with the death penalty all together. By eliminating the death penalty, the state will save $1 billion in five years. And that’s not even counting the profit from selling San Quentin.

California currently has the largest death row in the country and spends more than any other state on the death penalty. In the next five years, California can save $1 billion by getting rid of the death penalty. Here’s how:

• Save $125 million per year by cutting extra costs of the death penalty — costs not incurred through permanent imprisonment. According to the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, the annual cost of California’s death penalty to the state is $137 million. If the worst offenders were condemned to permanent imprisonment instead, the cost would be only $11 million and California would not be any less safe.

• Save $400 million in construction of a new housing facility for death row inmates. According to the State Auditor, this is how much it will cost to build a new facility at San Quentin, needed because the current facility is filled past capacity. And this is the state’s cost saving measure; building at any other site will be even more expensive.

Keep in mind that any attempt to “speed up” the death penalty will cost even more. The California Commission concluded that in order to reduce the time needed to review death penalty cases, the state would need to spend an additional $100 million each year.

These figures don’t even take into consideration the windfall profits from selling off San Quentin, if anyone even wants it. But before death row can go on the market, Gov. Schwarzenegger will have to come up with an effective alternative for the inmates already living there. Luckily, California has such an alternative already in place — permanent imprisonment — which is just as safe as and so much less expensive than capital punishment. The money saved can be used to provide victims’ services or other crime prevention measures. And there would still be money left to help dig California out of this economic hole.

Right now, Gov. Schwarzenegger can convert all of the current death sentences to sentences of permanent imprisonment, ensuring these inmates are kept off the streets forever and die in prison. Every guilty person sentenced to permanent imprisonment in California stays in prison until he or she dies, and it costs $175,000 less per inmate per year than a sentence of death by execution.

Before selling San Quentin, the Legislature will also need to temporarily suspend any new death sentences until the state recovers from the current fiscal crisis so we don’t recreate the current problem. As an added bonus, suspending new death penalty trials would also save county budgets, which are in no better condition than the state budget. Each death penalty trial costs the local counties at least $1.1 million more than a trial where the district attorney seeks a sentence of permanent imprisonment. California currently averages about 20 new death sentences a year, so stopping death penalty trials could save counties an additional $100 million in five years.

Of the many proposals Gov. Schwarzenegger has put before the voters and the legislature to rescue the state from financial meltdown — all of which have failed — none are quite as simple or reasonable as suspending the death penalty and saving $1 billion in five years. Since the Governor is now into real estate, he should know a “money pit” when he sees it. The longer he waits, the more money he wastes.

To learn more visit www.aclunc.org/deathpenalty.

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1. Maggie Says:
   May 21st, 2009 at 4:58pm

   I thought San Quentin belonged to the Indians?

2. Yvonne Steffen Says:
   May 21st, 2009 at 5:56pm

   In addition to saving the state money, permanent imprisonment allows the guilty person to rue his actions for the rest of his life and prevents the state from killing an innocent person.

3. Paen Says:
   May 22nd, 2009 at 1:51pm

   Some might even reform selves.

4. wild Says:
   May 22nd, 2009 at 4:42pm

   I dont know what Schwartzenegger is griping about, those inmates, all Federal and State inmates are already supported with mega Federal bucks! So is Schwartzenegger also calling for reduced Federal megabucks, so that he can get out of the 'prison administration business'?............... oh he probably has some fresh contractors all lined up 'to do the job for the state'. Oh and lets not just single out Calif.........this is a unionwide systemic FAIL.

   wild;)

5. Layla Says:
   May 23rd, 2009 at 11:16am

   Our prison systems are over crouded as it is. If someone is warrented the death penalty... give it to them. It's so much cheaper than housing these people for years and years. And really lets not waste our money on lethal injection... bullets are so much more cost effective.

6. Layla Says:
   May 23rd, 2009 at 11:18am

   Crowded.. my bad

7. jim Says:
   May 23rd, 2009 at 4:09pm

   It does not mater if a murder is 'reformed.' Murders should die in prison.

8. Steve Says:
   May 25th, 2009 at 9:03pm

   I'm really iffy about the death penalty. On one hand, there are criminals out there I would love to see fry, but I also believe the risk of putting an innocent person to death is also a reason to oppose it. I would be for L.W.O.P if in the future those on the left would not consider that form of punishment as cruel and unusual.

9. angie Says:
   May 28th, 2009 at 11:44am

   I actually have changed my view on the death penalty over the years. If I trusted the justice system to get the right person 100% of the time, then I would still support the death penalty. However, that's not currently a realistic possibility. There are probably plenty of innocent people in jail or on death row. Unfortunately, there's no way to know for sure who is who. Also, it seems like death penalty rulings occur within a prejudiced system and there are a disproportionate number of minorities on death row. As it stands I would be happy to see the death penalty go. I just don't think it's handled ethicly or fairly.

10. garyglenn Says:
    Jun 3rd, 2009 at 12:49am

    Jeez, why not execute these convicted killers within 1 year of sentencing and save billions more? Just consider all of the obviously guilty people on CA's death row who are nothing but parasites who are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt (Ramirez probably the best example, but Ng is right up there).

11. garyglenn Says:
    Jun 3rd, 2009 at 12:53am

    >>>In addition to saving the state money, permanent imprisonment allows the guilty person to rue his actions for the rest of his life and prevents the state from killing an innocent person.

    Yes, and these killers were so cognizant of their actions and full of sensitivity and remorse as they were raping, torturing, or otherwise executing their victims? How many people on CA's death row are not "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt"? You can probably count them on one hand!

12. garyglenn Says:
    Jun 3rd, 2009 at 12:54am

    >>Our prison systems are over crouded as it is. If someone is warrented the death penalty… give it to them. It’s so much cheaper than housing these people for years and years. And really lets not waste our money on lethal injection… bullets are so much more cost effective.

    Very well said, except that hollow points should be used.

13. robert curtin Says:
    Jun 24th, 2009 at 11:32am

    i support an extensive capitol punishment system-its true social justice

14. Samdra Sandoski Says:
    Jul 29th, 2009 at 3:02pm

    torture exists in Canada today. The use of gps/radio and other sec system harassment is everywhere. The cia is presumably responsable for torture with projekt monark and mengele style torture. 1000s of people have been reported informally to have been killed.

    I am opposed to so called anti terrorism torture.

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