Sadly, California had a chance to ban the death penalty last election via Proposition 34. The outcome wasn't even close, with 52% voting against the proposition

Sadly, California had a chance to ban the death penalty last election via Proposition 34. The outcome wasn't even close, with 52% voting against the proposition [1]. Compared to other states, California executes very few criminals. Over the last 10 years, only three inmates have been killed. Compared to Texas which, over the same time frame, has executed 263 inmates [2]. However, California currently has the most inmates on death row (727) of any state. Since California doesn't execute the inmates it puts on death row, they end up costing the tax payers. An inmate on death row costs the state almost four times as much as a regular inmate ($175k versus $47k)[3]. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_34_%282012%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_34_%2820... [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_people_executed_in_Texas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_people_executed_in_Tex... [3]: http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/02/death-penalty-california-stats-infographic http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/02/death-penalty-califo...