This year, Prop 34 puts death penalty on the ballot in California. If voters say yes to Proposition 34, California would become the 18th state to ban it.
Where, in the past, campaigns based on the morality of death penalty have failed, this years' proponents of Prop 34 have mainly insisted on the high cost of the death penalty. A death penalty sentence, because of its irreversible effect, benefits from unique Constitutional protections that allows the convicted offender many appeals thus extending the judicial process and its costs for many years. The average time between sentencing and execution is now around 25 years in California. Death penalty related costs for the state are around $137 millions per year.
The following infographic has been created to provide more detailed information about the costs of the death penalty and help citizens make up their mind about keeping or abolishing the death penalty.
