The California appeals process is especially long, sometimes ...

[saliriagwu]

The California appeals process is especially long, sometimes lasting 20-30 years, driving
  up the costs to the taxpayers. But other states have discovered that high costs in their
  own states make the death penalty much more expensive than life without parole, even
  with much shorter appeals processes.

 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

John Van de Kamp, former attorney general of California and a supporter of the death
  penalty, urged in an op-ed several years ago that California suspend the death penalty
  to save money in these fiscally difficult times. He estimated that this would save 1
  billion over five years. In 2012, California voters voted down Proposition 34 by a vote of
  53-47.

 
  What will be an ideal response?

[234sdffa]

Answer to Question 1

In Maryland, a study by the Urban Institute
demonstrated that a single death sentence costs the state 3 million, while cases in
which life without parole is sought cost 1.1 million, factoring all costs of trial, appeals,
investigations, and prison. In Tennessee, a study by the Comptroller of the Treasury
revealed that it cost the state 48 more for death penalty trials than trials in which life
imprisonment is sought. In Kansas, it was determined by the state that death penalty
cases cost 70 more than non-death penalty cases. Comparable results have been
identified by several other states, including Nevada, Washington, New Jersey, Indiana,
North Carolina, and Florida. Research reputable sources in your own state, especially
the official state government sites and reputable newspapers and advocacy groups, to
determine whether such studies have been conducted in your state. Has this data been
used to urge that capital punishment be abolished, if it has not already? If your state
does not have the death penalty, have supporters of the death penalty acknowledged
these costs?

Answer to Question 2

The Proposition would have ended the state's death penalty and convert all those
sentences to life imprisonment without parole. Supporters of the proposition
emphasized, as had Van de Kamp, the economic savings from abolishing capital
punishment. At the time of the vote, 726 inmates awaited execution on death row. The
legal costs to the state of remaining appeals for these inmates are estimated at 700
million. Supporters of the proposition have indicated they will try to get it passed in the
future. Opponents (especially law enforcement officials and victims' rights groups) have
said they will try to pass a proposition in 2014 that would eliminate most appeals to save
money. Considering the cost of the death penalty to taxpayers, analyze the pros and
cons of this proposition as a utilitarian. Also factor in J.S. Mill's utilitarian analysis
supporting the death penalty.

[saliriagwu]

Excellent

Gracias!