According to a new peer-reviewed study published in the National Academy of Sciences, one in 25 people sentenced to death in the United States from 1973 to 2004 was erroneously convicted.
Frighteningly, researchers concluded that “most innocent defendants who have been sentenced to death have not been exonerated.” Researchers also stated “with an error rate at trial over 4 percent, it is all but certain that several of the 1,320 defendants executed since 1977 were innocent.”
This study was released the day before Oklahoma botched an execution after weeks of refusing to disclose information about the lethal injection drugs.
Both events should give pause to district attorneys who, like me, represent the people in the criminal courts. It should also give pause to residents of our state, as the death penalty is upheld in our name and paid for by our taxes.
The truth is, the death penalty is broken beyond repair, will always risk innocent lives and is a waste of taxpayer dollars. The only viable solution is to replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Arriving at my current views involved a process that was highly analytical and deeply emotional. Like many people, I have gone through an evolution in my thinking that has led me to believe the death penalty is irreparably flawed and marred by a history of incorrect information.
My journey began with the realization that in my 30 years in law enforcement, the death penalty has had no impact on public safety. Strengthening families and neighborhoods, holding criminals swiftly accountable and ensuring every child receives a quality education are more effective in deterring violent crime than remote threats of execution.
This is especially true in California, where the 745 people now on death row likely will die of old age rather than execution. The truth is that a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole is the most severe punishment and the most effective solution to deal with the most dangerous murderers.
The costly reality of our death penalty system also played a critical role in my evolution. Study after study in California, including the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, has concluded that replacing the death penalty with life in prison without the possibility of parole will save California $130 million every year. That is $130 million of precious taxpayer money that should be spent to prevent crime, to solve crime and to educate our kids.
But the most important stop on my journey was innocence. Even under the most scrupulous practices, the legal system occasionally makes mistakes. Just since 1973, more than 140 people on death rows around the country have been exonerated, thankfully before they were executed. To me, this number was evidence enough that the death penalty invites deadly mistakes.
Last week’s report escalates a disturbing situation into one that deserves public outcry. The researchers calculated that 4.1 percent of the 7,482 accused sentenced to death in the United States from 1973 to 1984 were wrongly convicted. This, according to the researchers, is a “conservative estimate.” That means there may be 30 innocent people on California’s death row right now.
As San Francisco’s district attorney, it is my job to protect people and ensure that our justice system is fair, equitable and effective. The death penalty is a costly distraction that prevents us from achieving that goal. I urge my colleagues in law enforcement, as well as the voters, to join me in fighting for justice that works — for everyone.
George Gascon is district attorney of San Francisco. (Find the Innocence Report at www.pnas.org.) He wrote this for this newspaper.
