California Could Be Eighteenth State To Abolish The Death Penalty
The Governor of Connecticut is set to sign the repeal of that states death penalty, which will make it the 17th state to abolish the practice.
California is now thinking about doing the same thing. Anti death penalty groups were able to gather the 800,000 signatures needed to put the decision on the ballot for the people of California to decide.
The option to eliminate the death penalty, or to keep the practice alive in that state will be decided in November. If the death penalty was to be abolished, the maximum sentence a person could receive is life without parole. Anyone who is currently on death row awaiting their day, will have their sentences commuted to life without parole. They will live out their days as old men and women.
According to MSNBC, 13 people have been executed in California since it was reinstated in 1978.
The Los Angeles Times reported that $4 billion has been spent to administer capital punishment –- about $308 million per execution. – MSNBC Report
Over the past five years, including Connecticut, five states have abolished the death penalty. New Jersey, New York, New Mexico and Illinois were the first four. Other states are also considering the possibility of abolishing the practice in their states as well. Maryland, Kansas, and Montana have movements that are pushing the states to abolish the practice.
Connecticut has not really used their death penalty much recently, so their abolishing of the death penalty will only have a direct effect on a small handful of individuals.
“Connecticut currently has 11 inmates on death row, but only one execution — that of serial killer Michael Ross in 2005 — has been carried out since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1973.” — Stamford Advocate Report
As more and more states eliminate the practice of executing people, will crime start to rise? Does the death penalty really scare people into not committing heinous crimes? Does it really save any money in the end either?
But on the other hand, does allowing a murderer the luxury of sitting in a cell with three square meals a day, free electricity, free air and heat, and other free services, sound better?
It is a very blurred line. Many people are right in the middle on the practice of executing people. But many families of victims are out for blood. Communities want the bad people that hurt their neighbor to never be able to do it again. But if it does not effect them directly, then they are against it. And that is OK. We are human, and allowed to change our mind as we see fit, unless of course you are running for an elected office, then it might be a bad thing.
The executions by state map with statistics is from the Death Penalty Information Center.
Related stories (No more Death Penalty In Illinois)
