No justice system is bulletproof, and this nation’s is no exception, especially when it comes to the death penalty. In fact, a 2014 study found that about one in 25 people on death row are innocent.
Coupled with the millions in taxpayer money Californians pay yearly to continue operating this flawed system, the Daily Bruin Editorial Board has many reasons to support Proposition 62, which would repeal the death penalty and replace it with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
The taxpayers have spent about $5 billion since 1978 on maintaining the death penalty system in the state. The state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office predicts that repealing the death penalty could save $150 million in taxpayer money per year, as it would remove the long appeal process associated with the death penalty.
Before one argues for a cut in the long appeal process, as the Proposition 66 has called, the appeal process is necessary in death penalty cases to ensure that irreversible decisions of life and death are made with near-absolute certainty. Yet, even this near-absolute certainty has not prevented dozens of inmates across the nation from being executed despite their innocence.
Those opposed to the Proposition 62 believe repealing the death penalty would denigrate victims’ families and would jeopardize public safety. But voting yes on the proposition would prevent family members of victims from having to re-live tragedies through long court cases involved in the appeal process.
In 2012, the board endorsed Proposition 34, which called for an end to the death penalty, citing the system’s inefficiency and exorbitant cost. We have no reason to believe the death penalty system has changed for the better since then. For that reason, we endorse Proposition 62.
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