That's what Californians need to ask themselves. A recent study by U.S. 9th Circuit Judge Arthur L. Alarcon and Loyola Law School professor Paula M. Mitchell called "Executing the Will of the Voters: A Roadmap to Mend or End the California Legislature's Multi-Billion-Dollar Death Penalty Debacle" has figured capital punishment expenses to total over $4 billion since California re-introduced the practice in 1978. The math works out to a staggering $308 million dollars for each of the 13 executions the state has carried out.
Of course it's not news that the death penalty is a tremendous waste of tax dollars. However, the astronomical costs in Alarcon and Mitchell's study should provoke a frank discussion on just how the public good is being served. It's hard to see how a state that is brutally slashing public education can continue to justify a policy that does nothing to make us safer.
