Douglas Stankewitz, a Native American, was the first person sent to California’s death row after capital punishment was reinstated in 1978. Thirty-four years later, he remains there as his appeals continue. His conviction was overturned in 1982 because he had not received a mental competency hearing, despite findings by court-appointed doctors that he was mentally unstable and brain-damaged as a result of childhood abuse. His second trial is now being appealed on the grounds that his court-appointed attorney was ineffective. Stankewitz maintains that, although he was involved in a crime when the victim was killed, he did not commit the murder. Voters in California will be considering a referendum to repeal the death penalty in November. Supporters of the initiative say the death penalty is costing the state $184 million a year in legal costs, and life sentences would reduce the costs to just $11.5 million. Also, taxpayers would save $65 million a year in prison expenditures because each death row inmate costs $90,000 per year in extra security and services. Opponents of the referendum say that the high costs are driven by needless appeals. California has 728 inmates on death row. Since 1978, it has carried out 13 executions, and 3 men have been exonerated. Many more on the row have died of natural causes.
(K. Fagan, “Death penalty focus shifts to costs,” San Francisco Chronicle, September 1, 2012). See Time on Death Row and Costs.
