Calif. Panel: Death Penalty System is 'Dysfunctional,' 'Close to Collapse'
Unless the state of California spends significantly more money or changes sentencing laws, its 670-inmate death row—the biggest in the country—will continue to grow and be plagued with lengthy delays, a state commission says. The time from sentencing to execution in California ranges from 20 to 25 years, compared to a 12-year national average .
In a report released today, the 22-member California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice unanimously agrees that the current system is “dysfunctional” and “close to collapse,” although members do not agree on the best solution to the problem, reports the Los Angeles Times.
“The commission did not advocate abolishing the death penalty,” the newspaper recounts, “but did note that California could save $100 million a year if the state replaced the punishment with sentences of life in prison without possibility of parole. Death row prisoners cost more to confine, are granted more resources for appeals, have more expensive trials and usually die in prison anyway, the commission said in its 117-page report.”
