I've always been a fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger, not so much on the political side of things as opposed the silver screen, but my opinion of him is dropping rapidly.
It began in Sacramento on Wednesday when the California Governor announced that he planned to 'borrow' an eye-watering $64 millions from the already almost-broke General Fund. Why? Well, to build a new death row facility at San Quentin of course!
It gets worse. $64 million is nothing - the new facility is expected to cost upwards of $400 million in total.
California doesn't need more debts. Even if you're in favour of the death penalty, I bet you can't look me in the eyes and say that this will be $400 million well spent.
California already has the largest and most expensive death row in America - by FAR. There are over 700 death row inmates in California. Los Angeles County alone sends more people to death row than the entire state of Texas. And yet, nearly all of California's death row might as well be sentenced to life without parole - they nearly all die of natural causes as opposed to state-sponsored murder.
And each of those pointless death sentences is costing the state a small fortune. The state could save at least $1.1 million in each trial if it was seeking permanent imprisonment instead of the death penalty. That's just the trial. The annual cost of California's death penalty is $126 million. Per year.
So take that $400 million figure and make it more like $1 billion in five years.
To summarise, Governor Schwarzenegger could save the California taxpayers a heck of a lot of money if he would only chuck the death penalty out of the window and commute all the current death sentences to life imprisonment. No imate gets of lightly. Justice is still served - and quickly - for murder victims and their families; no decades of waiting and having the ordeal dredged up with every new appeal and clemency hearing and execution date set and reset. It is basically a cheaper, quicker and less painful way of doing things for everyone involved.
Thank you to James Clark, Death Penalty Field Organiser of ACLU California, who wrote the report this post is based on.
If you have any ideas how that $64 million could be better spent, why not Tweet Governor Schwarzenegger and let him know. Tweet @Schwarzenegger Say No to Death Row! Spend #64million on [insert your preferred state program] #cabudget.
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In all fairness, finding 700 people a long term place to sleep is also going to be quite difficult.
ReplyDeleteStill, what a waste! There's a million better ways to spend that kind of money...like on programs that will stop crimes being committed in the first place x
I agree to an extent with the above comments, but for a fraction of that kind of money they could build more bars, more cells and more walls in a maximum security unit in order to commute the sentences of said 700 people to life without parole instead. The state could save millions of dollars every year by just getting rid of the death penalty... Money which could be put towards, for example, education so that less kids will find themselves forced into a life of crime.
ReplyDeleteI am an Australian and a violent act does not reward with another, please rid America of the death Penalty and commute all to life sentances, Mr Schwarzenegger I believed you to be a moral person with good values by way of entering politics for a better California -, but after reading this I am now unsure of what you really do stand for. Please put your money towards creating a better California dont be looked upon by others as a person who does not have respect for human life as not all are guilty and many innocent people are condemed.
ReplyDeleteDonna Champion - Australia