Death in Decline '09

As the United States moves away from death sentences to permanent imprisonment, California—particularly Los Angeles County—lags behind, according to a new report on the death penalty by the ACLU of Northern California. 

In 2009, the number of new death sentences nationwide reached the lowest level since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.  The Golden State, however, sent more people to death row last year than in the seven preceding years. At the close of 2009, California's death row was the largest and most costly in the United States.

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