[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.MEX., CALIF., ORE., USA

[Rick Halperin]

Nov, 18




NEW MEXICO:

Bid to reinstate death penalty likely to stall in Legislature


A push to reinstate New Mexico's death penalty for certain violent crimes could 
end up stuck in neutral in the coming 60-day legislative session, after 
Democrats reclaimed the state House in last week's election and expanded their 
majority in the Senate.

Rep. Gail Chasey, D-Albuquerque, who sponsored the 2009 legislation that 
abolished New Mexico's death penalty and replaced it with life in prison 
without the possibility of parole, said she believes the effort to bring it 
back will get a cool reception from Democrats, after some Republicans used the 
issue as campaign fodder during the election.

"We wouldn't really have an appetite for it," Chasey said this week, adding 
it's unlikely the legislation would be passed out of its first assigned 
committee. "To me, it makes no sense from a policy standpoint."

However, Rep. Monica Youngblood, R-Albuquerque, who co-sponsored a death 
penalty reimposition bill during last month's special legislative session - it 
passed the House but was not voted on in the Senate - said she still plans to 
try, despite the election results that included the defeat of 1 of the bill's 
other co-sponsors.

"I do still intend to carry (the bill)," Youngblood told the Journal . "I think 
the people of New Mexico - and specifically, my constituents - want it."

She also said she's been looking at other states' death penalty laws and is 
open to making changes to the special session legislation.

Gov. Susana Martinez called in August for the death penalty to be brought back 
- at least for those convicted of killing children or law enforcements officers 
- after a spate of high-profile crimes sent shock waves through the state.

The crimes included the death of 10-year-old Victoria Martens of Albuquerque, 
who police say was drugged, raped and killed by 3 adults, including her mother, 
and the killing of police officers in Hatch and Alamogordo earlier this year.

Martinez, the state's 2-term Republican governor, expressed optimism the death 
penalty proposal and other criminal penalty bills could find traction in the 
Legislature, which will have some new faces in leadership positions, because 
Democrats won the House and longtime Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, 
D-Belen, was defeated in his re-election bid.

"The governor is going to continue to pursue legislation that cracks down on 
violent repeat criminals with tougher penalties, and that includes reinstating 
the death penalty for the most heinous crimes," Martinez spokesman Michael 
Lonergan said. "The governor believes legislators will listen to victims' 
families and the general public who want to see these bills pass."

But it appears several legislators would have to change their minds before the 
death penalty could be reinstated.

During the special session, which ended Oct. 6, the House voted 36-30 in favor 
of the bill to reinstate the death penalty, with all House Republicans present 
voting in favor and all House Democrats voting in opposition.

Since then, Democrats picked up likely 5 and possibly 6 seats in last week's 
election, apparently giving them a 38-32 majority in the House. Of the newly 
elected Democrats, at least t3 said in response to a Journal questionnaire that 
they would oppose bringing back capital punishment. Only one, Candie Sweetser 
of Deming, said she would support the proposal, and several others were 
noncommittal.

The questionnaire responses would appear to suggest defeat for the death 
penalty proposal in the House, unless minds are changed. And that's not even 
considering the Senate, where Democrats picked up a net of 2 seats and will 
apparently enter the 2017 session with a 26-16 advantage over Republicans.

House Minority Leader Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, who is expected to be elected 
House speaker on the opening day of the 2017 session, suggested death penalty 
bills will not be a top focus once Democrats assume control of the House.

"If a member wants to introduce legislation reintroducing the death penalty, 
they would certainly have that option," Egolf said in a recent interview. "But 
I think it's fair to say it will not be a priority that takes precedence over 
putting people back to work."

Nationally, there's been a movement away from the death penalty in recent 
years. 19 states, including New Mexico, currently do not have death penalty 
laws on their books, and 3 of those states - Illinois, Connecticut and Maryland 
- have abolished capital punishment in the past 5 years, according to the 
National Conference of State Legislatures.

However, last week's election gave hope to capital punishment supporters, as 
voters in Nebraska voted overwhelmingly to restore the death penalty and voters 
in California narrowly rejected a proposed repeal of capital punishment.

Before abolishing the death penalty, New Mexico had executed just one inmate 
since 1960. That happened in 2001, when Terry Clark received a lethal injection 
after being convicted of raping and killing Dena Lynn Gore, a 9-year-old 
Artesia girl.

The 1st day to start filing legislation for the 2017 session is Dec. 15.

(source: Albuquerque Journal)






CALIFORNIA:

Death penalty phase starts in Cheary murder trial in Visalia


The death penalty phase in the murder trial of Christopher Cheary began 
Wednesday in Tulare County Superior Court.

Cheary, 25, was found guilty Monday of murdering 3-year-old Sophia Acosta, his 
girlfriend's daughter, who died of blunt force trauma 5 years ago.

The jury found true special circumstances of sexual penetration with a foreign 
object and torture.

The prosecution called several witnesses Wednesday, including Cheary's 
ex-girlfriend Ericka Smith. They had lived at an Exeter apartment with her 2 
children.

The death penalty phase will resume Monday. Cheary could be sentenced to death 
or to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

(source: Fresno Bee)

******************

Trial begins for man accused of killing 4 O.C. women


Opening statements will be delivered in the death penalty trial of a registered 
sex offender who plans to represent himself against charges that he raped and 
murdered 4 prostitutes in Anaheim and Santa Ana.

Steven Dean Gordon, 47, earlier this year won the right to defend himself in 
his death penalty trial. Co-defendant Franc Cano, 30, of Anaheim, who also 
faces the death penalty, will be tried separately.

The process of jury selection in the case began before voters went to the polls 
and rejected a bid to eliminate the death penalty in California. That vote 
cleared the way for Gordon to face the 2-phase trial, which will first focus on 
whether he is guilty of the crimes and then, if convicted, will have jurors 
weighing whether to recommend life in prison without the possibility of parole 
or death.

Cano and Gordon, both registered sex offenders, allegedly went on a rampage 
that led to the deaths of the 4 victims, according to Senior Deputy District 
Attorney Larry Yellin.

Only the body of 21-year-old Jarrae Nykkole Estepp was found. Investigators 
recovered her remains on March 14, 2013, in an Anaheim recycling facility.

The other victims were Kianna Jackson, 20, of Las Vegas, Josephine Vargas, 34, 
and Martha Anaya, 28, both of Santa Ana.

(source: Fox News)

*****************************

Jury recommends death penalty for Adelanto man found guilty of 2009 double 
murder


A jury recommended the death penalty for a Adelanto man found guilty earlier 
this year of 2 counts of 1st-degree murder and criminal street gang activity 
for the slayings of 2 people during a 2009 drug deal.

James Dawntay Ellis appeared in a Victorville courtroom on Wednesday morning 
and the jury made the recommendation based on evidence presented during the 
trial's penalty phase.

"Seeking the death penalty is one of the single most difficult decisions I have 
to make, and it is reserved for the worst of the worst criminals," District 
Attorney Mike Ramos said in a statement. "When we seek the death penalty, it is 
important to remember that it is not a reflection of our brutality, but rather 
an expression of our disdain for the defendant's brutal actions."

Ellis, 28, was 1 of 5 suspects arrested in connection to the November 2009 
slayings of Ealy Davis Jr., 28, of Long Beach, and Shameka Reliford, 26, of 
Adelanto.

On the night of the murders, authorities said Ellis was at Sandra Smith's 
house, along with William Anthony Jacobs, Joseph Bowen and Forrest Taylor, when 
they discussed a "desire to acquire drugs and money," prosecutors said.

"One of them suggested robbing a drug dealer," DA officials said in a 
statement. "During the planning process, Ellis produced a handgun and showed it 
to the others. Smith then suggested they rob Davis, a drug dealer she knows. 
Smith knows Davis because Davis was currently dating her half-sister Shameka 
Reliford."

Prosecutors said Smith provided Taylor with Davis' cell phone number. Several 
phone calls were placed to lure Davis to a secluded area near Westside Park 
Elementary School.

Davis drove to Westside Park in Adelanto to meet a man after they had discussed 
a drug deal over the phone, according to previous testimony from a female 
witness who was in the car the night of the shooting.

According to testimony, a man in a hooded sweatshirt, later identified as 
Ellis, approached the car, according to testimony. Davis' cousin was also in 
the car at the time of the incident.

Ellis asked Davis, "Do you got me?" and Davis replied, "Yes."

This exchange was repeated, and then Ellis took a step back, produced a handgun 
and fired 4 to 5 times into the vehicle, prosecutors said.

According to previous reports, the witness reported seeing a flash in the dark 
and heard a gunshot as the driver's side window shattered. Both the witness and 
Davis' cousin testified that they heard several more gunshots.

Davis was found dead in the vehicle; Reliford was taken to Victor Valley 
Community Hospital, where she died about an hour later.

Ellis, Taylor, 29 of Los Angeles, and Jacobs, 29, of Adelanto, were all 
arrested in December 2009 in connection with the murders.

Taylor was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in 2013, Smith 
was sentenced to 18 years in prison, Jacobs was sentenced to 13 years and 8 
months in prison and Bowen was sentenced to probation for being an accessory.

Ellis was found guilty on Oct. 3 and jurors also found true the special 
circumstance allegations of lying in wait, murder during the commission of a 
robbery, murder while an active participant in a criminal street gang and 
multiple murder, which made Ellis eligible for the death penalty.

Supervising Deputy District Attorney Britt Imes, who prosecuted the case, said 
Ellis has demonstrated a "desire to continue a life of violent gang behavior up 
to and through the prosecution" of the case.

"While seeking the ultimate punishment is a tough decision for all involved, I 
am pleased that a hard-working and dedicated jury representing the communities 
of this county held the defendant responsible for his actions and provided the 
families some sense of justice," Imes said.

Court records show Ellis is next due in court on Jan. 27.

(source: Daily Press)

******************************

Man accused in murder of elderly woman could face death penalty


A Mira Mesa man accused of killing a 92-year-old woman during a burglary at her 
National City apartment pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a murder charge that 
could lead to the death penalty.

Peter Thao, 26, was arrested last week in connection with the death of Maria 
Rivera, whose body was found by her daughter at their rental residence in the 
1100 block of D Avenue shortly before 6 a.m. on Oct. 22.

Police wouldn't say what led them to identify Thao as Rivera's alleged killer.

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has yet to decide whether Thao will face the 
death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted of murder and a 
special circumstance allegation of murder during a burglary.

He was ordered held without bail.

A readiness conference was scheduled Jan. 12 and a preliminary hearing set for 
March 14 at the South Bay Courthouse.

(source: Fox News)






OREGON:

Study: High price for Oregon's death penalty


Cases with death sentences in Oregon, on average, cost more than double - and 
as much as $1 million more - than aggravated murder cases with life sentences, 
according to a new study.

The study's researchers calculated the average aggravated murder case with the 
death penalty cost an average of $1.39 million, even without corrections costs. 
In contrast, the same type of case with life in prison cost an average of 
$334,522.

The Oregon Death Penalty Cost Analysis report was funded by the Oregon Justice 
Resource Center, a Portland-based nonprofit, and written by Professor Aliza 
Kaplan from Lewis & Clark Law School, Professor Peter Collins from Seattle 
University, Seattle, Washington, and law student Venetia Mayhew. Researchers 
collection information on hundreds of aggravated murder cases from 2000 to 
2013.

"This report confirms what many had long suspected about the cost of Oregon's 
death penalty, but the actual figures are staggering," said Alice Lundell, the 
center's spokeswoman. "We're spending 4 times more on death penalty cases than 
on comparable cases without death sentences despite having only executed 2 
people since Kennedy was president."

63 people have been sentenced to death in Oregon since the state brought back 
the death penalty in 1984. Of those, 2 people voluntarily gave up appeals and 
were executed, four people died of natural causes while on death row and 22 
people had their sentences reduced, according to the report.

With the recent sentencing of David Bartol, 45, for the jail stabbing of 
another inmate, 35 people will now be on death row. All potential executions 
have been subject to a moratorium put in place in 2011 by then-Gov. John 
Kitzhaber. After taking office, current Gov. Kate Brown upheld the moratorium 
and made her personal opposition to the death penalty clear. Brown recently 
re-affirmed the moratorium.

Support for capital punishment has fallen in recent decades, but more Americans 
support the death penalty than oppose it, according to a Pew Research Center 
poll. Pew also noted that the number of executions - and the number of states 
conducting those executions - have fallen sharply since peaking in 1999. 31 
states have the death penalty. Oregon, along with 3 other states, have a 
moratorium on executions.

Prosecuting aggravated murder, the only crime punishable by death in Oregon, is 
already a "complicated and time-consuming" process, the report said, but 
tacking on the possibility of the death penalty drove up the amount of time and 
money spent on cases.

The study's authors noted a gap in available information about the costs behind 
aggravated murder cases. Specific information from courts and local prosecutors 
about the amount of time and money spent on cases was often unavailable.

Special defense lawyers are required, defense filings double, prosecutorial 
filings triple and defendants spend more time in expensive, secured housing at 
local jails. Cases with the death penalty option are required to be 2-phase 
jury trials. Jury selection is lengthier and costlier in death penalty cases, 
and trials can span months.

The report cited the 2010 trial of Bruce and Joshua Turnidge, the father and 
son duo behind the Woodburn bank bombing. Jurors were summoned in early 
September, and the trial lasted months. Following a 2-week penalty phase, the 
Turnidges were sentenced to death on Dec. 22, 2010.

Each death penalty case receives an automatic, direct review by the Oregon 
Supreme Court. This process lasts years, even decades. The 4 longest serving 
inmates on death row have spent a total of 110 years on death row. None of 
their appeals have gone very far past the direct review.

A Oregon Department of Justice official estimated the average direct appeal 
demanded about 250 hours of work by lawyers over its course.

The report profiled Randy Guzek, 47, the longest serving member on Oregon's 
row. Sentenced to death in 1988 for killing a couple in Deschutes County, Guzek 
has had his sentenced reversed 3 times. He was re-sentenced all 3 times. In 
2015 the Oregon Supreme Court affirmed his sentence, but Guzek's appeals 
process remains in its early stages.

The study estimated that, not counting incarceration costs, Guzek's trial, 
sentencing, re-sentencings and appeals cost at least $3.95 million.

"Every Oregon taxpayer - including those in the 20 counties that haven't sent 
anyone to death row since it was reinstated in 1984 - is bearing the burden of 
funding this broken system," Lundell said. "That's money that's not being 
invested in our schools, in services for victims and their families, and in 
programs that would actually increase public safety. While the recent decision 
by Governor Brown to reaffirm the moratorium is a very welcome step, costs 
associated with Oregon's death penalty continue to mount."

With growing costs, along with the risk of racial bias and the execution of 
innocent people, the center recommended dropping the death penalty for an 
alternative already in place: life without possibility of parole.

The death penalty is not a proven deterrent, Lundell said. Considering how many 
times Oregonians have changed their minds on the death penalty, center 
officials said they believe it's time for the governor to step in. Brown should 
go further than simply reaffirming the moratorium, she added.

"We think she should use the constitutional powers of her office to commute the 
sentences of all of those on death row," Lundell said. "It would end or greatly 
reduce the vast sums being spent on those cases, and it would allow space for 
Oregonians to consider whether the death penalty should remain part of their 
justice system or should be consigned to history as we believe it should."

(source: The Statesman Journal)

********************

Death penalty sought in Lara case ---- Bend man is accused of murdering Kaylee 
Sawyer


Edwin Lara now faces the death penalty for allegedly killing Bend resident 
Kaylee Sawyer in July.

"I am seeking a sentence of death," Deschutes County District Attorney John 
Hummel said in an interview Wednesday.

Despite the district attorney's office seeking the death penalty, it is 
ultimately unlikely. In Oregon, aggravated murder is the only crime for which 
someone can be executed.

However the governor's office has had a moratorium on executions since 2011.

Hummel said the moratorium had no impact on his decision.

Hummel announced the decision Wednesday. He said he came to the decision after 
a long process of weighing both sides.

"Not every aggravated murder case should receive a sentence of death," Hummel 
told The Bulletin. "Oregonians have given district attorneys discretion to 
decide when to seek a sentence of death in an aggravated murder case. Death 
should be reserved for a small subset of aggravated murder cases."

Lara, 31, is charged with 4 counts of aggravated murder for allegedly 
kidnapping, attempting to sexually assault and murdering Sawyer on July 24. His 
trial is set for Oct. 10, 2017.

Due to a judge's gag order, Hummel previously declined to comment on whether he 
was going to pursue the death penalty. The order was amended Nov. 3 to be more 
flexible, with Deschutes County Circuit Judge Michael Adler specifically 
allowing Hummel to address the public on whether he planned to seek the death 
penalty.

Hummel said he did a "proportionality review," looking at every aggravated 
murder case in the county's history and comparing the facts and decisions made 
in those cases to the Lara case. He also sought input from 11 of Sawyer's 
family members. Hummel said members of the family expressed "varying views" on 
pursuing the death penalty, but declined to elaborate.

Hummel also talked with officers who investigated the case, and tasked deputy 
district attorneys with presenting arguments in favor and in opposition to 
pursuing execution.

With all the information presented, he and his chief deputies continued to 
weigh both sides.

"Ultimately, after all that, I sat with it and thought, and made my decision," 
he said.

Hummel said he had to separate his personal feelings from his obligation as 
district attorney.

"I disagree with the death penalty," he said. "I don't think killing someone to 
try and show killing is wrong is beneficial. But my morals should not be 
imposed on Oregon's laws."

He said it was a difficult decision, but feels the punishment is appropriate in 
this case.

"There is not a training program for how to decide whether to kill someone," he 
said. "This isn't normal that you sit in an office and decide whether to 
initiate a process that could result in someone's death.

"It's odd, it's uncomfortable, it's something that I hope no one I know has to 
do. But it's something I signed up for. I agreed to enforce the law."

Aggravated murder can be charged with the death penalty, life without parole or 
life with the possibility of parole. If a district attorney decides to seek the 
death penalty, a jury and judge need to grant it. Then, the governor has to 
sign a death warrant for the actual execution to take place.

According to Oregon Department of Corrections, the state has executed a total 
of 60 people, the 1st being in 1904. The last execution was of Harry Moore in 
1997. Currently, there are 34 inmates on death row in Oregon.

(source: The Bend Bulletin)






USA:

Judge closes Dylann Roof competency hearing to the public


The public won't get to hear the evidence of whether Dylann Roof is competent 
to face a death penalty trial in the killings of nine black people in a 
Charleston church, according to an order Wednesday from a judge.

There will be interviews with Roof and evidence presented at the hearing that 
may not end up being allowed before the jury and that could keep Roof from 
getting a fair trial, judge Richard Gergel wrote.

Gergel is giving media organizations a chance to argue against his ruling 
Thursday afternoon. The Associated Press, The Post and Courier of Charleston, 
The State of Columbia, NPR and WCSC-TV have all asked the hearing be kept open 
along with prosecutors.

Roof's closed competency hearing is scheduled for Monday, with Gergel 
scheduling jury selection to tentatively begin Nov. 28 in Roof's federal death 
penalty trial if he is found competent.

Gergel said he will issue a public order on Roof's competency, blacking out 
material he doesn't think should be public.

Roof's attorneys brought up the issue of whether he is mentally able to help 
his lawyers on the eve of jury selection beginning earlier this month.

Gergel then quickly ordered an exam that finished in about a week. The judge is 
currently reviewing that report.

It was the 1st time Roof's competency has been brought into question. The 
reason that his lawyers are worried about his mental state has been kept under 
seal.

Roof, 22, is charged with hate crimes, obstruction of religion and other counts 
in federal court in the June 2015 attack at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal 
Church.

Roof sat through an hour of Bible studies and prayer with 12 people in the 
church basement before shooting and killing nine of them, authorities said. The 
white man hurled racial insults at the black worshippers, telling the 3 he left 
alive that he spared them to tell the world the shootings were because he hated 
black people.

State prosecutors want to hold a separate death penalty trial against Roof on 9 
counts of murder.

(source: Associated Press)

*******************

Bank Of Moratorium: The Death Penalty Cash Cow

(Prison Lives is a non-profit organization established to educate and enable 
prisoners to be productive individuals.)


In October, Oregon's incumbent governor, Kate Brown, announced that when she 
wins the 2016 election, she will extend the moratorium on her state's death 
penalty. She will do this because, according to her campaign spokesperson, 
"after thoroughly researching the issue, serious concerns remain about the 
constitutionality and workability of Oregon's capital punishment law."

This is a familiar statement. Not only was something similar used by Governor 
Brown's predecessor to put Oregon's death penalty on hold in 2011, but the same 
justification has likewise been used recently by several other states. 
Washington, Pennsylvania and Colorado, amongst others, have likewise halted the 
possibility of executions for over 200 condemned men, all with the same 
justification.

They're all in agreement, the death penalty is broken. Between the strong 
possibilities of botched executions, the lack of proof of its effectiveness, 
the risk of killing an innocent person, the difficulties of even obtaining the 
drugs necessary for the process, and the ridiculous expense of it all, many 
states are no longer seeing any advantages in keeping it around.

Yet, they are keeping it around. Why?

Every governor that has decided to place a moratorium on executions has the 
power to completely empty out the death rows of their state. But instead, they 
press the pause button, ostensibly to address the "serious concerns" to 
determine if there is a way to salvage the ultimate penalty that was voted in 
by their people. However, all the while, they are very well aware that it's 
unsalvageable. Oregon's governor said as much in her office's statement when 
admitting that they had already "thoroughly researched" the issue, using 
death-knell words when referring to concerns that capital punishment is 
"unconstitutional" and "unworkable."

As the most outspoken proponent of capital punishment in the state of Oregon, 
Clatsop County District Attorney Josh Marquis, stated in regards to his 
governor's decision to extend the moratorium, "If she really believes the death 
penalty is so wrong, then she should have the guts to commute all of those 
sentences." Perhaps that's it, these governors simply lack the courage to bring 
about the end of something that has been on their law books for the last 40 
years. Or perhaps it's something else.

Capital punishment costs a fortune. In the state of California alone, according 
to the Death Penalty Information Center, more than $4 billion has been spent on 
it since it was reinstituted in 1978. When you consider that they have only 
executed 13 people in that amount of time, each execution essentially cost the 
state $385 million. That may be an extreme example, yet it's still 
representative of the absurd costs of this ineffective punishment.

Very few states have released accurate figures to demonstrate the real costs to 
their taxpayers, but for those that have, or where independent studies have 
been conducted, the figures have always been alarming. For example, 15 years 
ago, the Palm Beach Post reported that Florida was spending $51 million a year 
more on death penalty offenses than it would cost to punish the same offenders 
with life-without-parole sentences. That meant that with the 44 executions 
carried out in the state, each person executed, on average, cost taxpayers 
upwards of $24 million.

According to an Urban Institute study prior to Maryland's banning of the death 
penalty, in the 20 years researched Maryland had spent $186 million on capital 
punishment during a time when only 5 people were executed. That means that the 
death penalty cost the people of the state of Maryland $37.2 million per 
execution.

About a dozen of the 30 states that still have the death penalty on the books 
have not executed anyone in over a decade, and yet they are still billing the 
taxpayers to pay the tab of fighting appeals and housing men who, on paper at 
least, are condemned. Therefore, it's a safe bet to assume that hundreds of 
millions of dollars are being spent this year unnecessarily on capital 
punishment. But in no states is this more glaringly obvious than the ones who 
have placed a "moratorium" on the death penalty.

Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington have all been under a moratorium since 
2011. But while these are preventing executions from being carried out in these 
states, these are not moratoriums on the capital punishment scheme itself. This 
means that death sentences can be, and are still, meted out. What's more, the 
hundreds of prisoners in these states who are already on death row are moving 
forward with their appeals unaffected by their governor's action.

This means that for 5 years these states have continued spending the 
hard-earned dollars of citizens on a system that has already been recognized by 
governors as a broken one. Every taxpayer in these states is being forced to 
deposit funds into a bank that is virtually guaranteed to go belly-up in the 
very near future. What's worse, these governors know this to be the case.

"America is on the verge of a sea change," stated Governor Brown's 
administration, "by both legislation and more profoundly through court 
decisions. The past few years have already seen a major shift in the landscape 
of capital punishment law, and Governor Brown expects more changes on the 
horizon."

In the 5 years that these moratoriums have been in place, 5 other states have 
abolished capital punishment altogether. Their governors knew what the 
moratorium-happy governors know now - the death penalty is ineffective, 
unnecessarily costly, and a burden to its people. So why prolong the 
inevitable?

Death row inmates who are fighting their convictions, which are essentially all 
of them, do not merely have one citizen-paid attorney; they typically have an 
entire team of people fighting their cause. Between 2 capital defense 
attorneys, on average, several investigators, and numerous hired experts on 
their side, not to mention the staff on the other side of the table, from each 
state attorney general's office, who are charged with ensuring the sentence 
stands, sizable daily withdrawals are coming from the taxpayer-supplied state 
coffers. When you further tally new capital cases that must be fought and all 
associated court costs, which are typically 4 times that of non-capital-charged 
murder cases, the costs of the death penalty, even though it's under a 
moratorium, are still astronomical.

The death penalty is an economy of its own in the states that continue to hold 
onto it, but is a system that brings no benefits to those who are footing the 
bill. As passionate as a portion of Americans are about the concept of capital 
punishment in their state, it is not being used for a reason. It does not work. 
It's time to let the death penalty go.

Governors who decide that a moratorium is a good middle ground between 
satisfying the original wish of their people and the logical conclusion that 
the death penalty does not work are making a terrible choice. They are 
single-handedly reaching into the pockets of their constituents and robbing 
them to pay those who prosecute and defend criminals who are never going to 
step one foot inside of a death chamber.

Worse, by continuing to let the death penalty process continue when it is 
acknowledged that the system is so broken that executive action must be taken, 
these governors are essentially letting the car be driven without oil. Every 
part of the process will be adversely impacted by the parts that are broken, 
costing even more money in re-do repairs in the unlikely event that the death 
penalty is miraculously fixed.

Enacting a pause on capital punishment that still allows the flawed death 
penalty process to continue is either an act of cowardice or stupidity. Either 
way, it's unnecessarily costing the people of these states obscene amounts of 
resources that would be far better spent on enhancing the lives of their 
citizens. Instead, Governor Brown and the others are throwing much-needed state 
resources down the money pit of a so-called moratorium.

Prison Lives is a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization established to educate and 
enable prisoners to be productive individuals while incarcerated for a positive 
existence both inside and outside of prison life.

Prison Lives provides prisoners and their families with access to information 
and resources specific to their circumstances through 500+ page publications, 
including prisoner resource guides, prisoner education guides and prisoner 
entertainment guides.

(source: forbes.com)