Sample Letter to District Attorney - Seeks Death Penalty MORE

Dear District Attorney [NAME]:

I’m writing to ask you to stop seeking death sentences in our county. California has become a rogue state when it comes to the death penalty. With more than 700 people on death row, the death penalty system will cost the state $1 billion over the next five years. We can’t afford to waste so much money on a broken death penalty while cutting funding for education and vital services.

Not all of California’s District Attorneys are to blame for our high death sentencing rates. In fact, over the past 10 years, 86% of the death sentences came from only 10 of California’s 58 counties. The vast majority of District Attorneys have effectively replaced the death penalty with permanent imprisonment. I applaud that trend.

Indeed, the tide is turning across the United States from death sentences to permanent imprisonment. A growing number of states are choosing permanent imprisonment over the death penalty, fueled by growing concerns about the wrongful conviction of innocent people and the high costs of the death penalty in comparison to permanent imprisonment. In 2009, the number of new death sentences nationwide reached the lowest level since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

As District Attorney, you hold the power to move our county in a more positive direction.  A shift to permanent imprisonment would mean significant savings in a time of fiscal crisis, would eliminate the risk of executing the innocent, and would lead to more consistent policies across all California counties.

Permanent imprisonment ensures swift and certain punishment for those who commit serious crimes: every person sentenced to permanent imprisonment will die in prison or has died in prison. It is a better alternative for California that would punish serious offenders and protect more communities, while also saving the state millions. These resources could be shifted to schools in desperate need of funds, or local police who lack the basic resources needed to solve murders. It is time for California to move forward and replace the death penalty with permanent imprisonment.

You can also view an interactive map and the ACLU’s latest report on death sentences in California at www.aclunc.org/deathindecline.  

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

[YOUR ADDRESS]