The latest edition of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund's "Death Row USA" showed a slight increase of 9 inmates in the death row population in the United States between October 1, 2010 and January 1, 2011. However, death row is still significantly smaller now (3,251 inmates) than in 2000 (3,682 inmates). The size of death row also declined overall in 2010. The size of death row is affected by the number of death sentences and the number of executions. Nationally, the racial composition of those on death row is 44% white, 42% black, and 12% Latino/Latina. Texas, Louisiana, and Connecticut had death rows consisting of 70% minority defendants. California continues to have the largest death row population (721), followed by Florida (398), Texas (321), Pennsylvania (219), and Alabama (206). California and Pennsylvania have not carried out an executiion in over five years. The report contains the latest death row population figures, execution statistics, and an overview of recent legal developments related to capital punishment.
The recent Field Poll conducted in California indicated that more voters now prefer life without the possibility of parole instead of the death penalty for convicted murderers. For the first time since the poll began asking the question over a decade ago, more voters (48%) say they would prefer that someone convicted of first-degree murder be sentenced to life without parole than the death penalty (40%). Eleven years ago, only 37% of respondents favored the life sentence and 44% preferred the death penalty, a 15 point change in the spread. Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo said that voters are far more skeptical of the death penalty now than they were twenty years ago: "There has been a change in attitude," he said. "Twenty-two years ago, the death penalty side argument prevailed by a large majority - now voters are divided in their opinions on many statements, including the cost of death versus life in prison, does a life sentence actually guarantee they will stay in prison, whether innocent people are executed, and their views of how it is administered to the ethnic population." A recent study in California found that maintaining the death penalty costs taxpayers $184 million a year more than if the state's condemned killers were kept in prison for life.
In an op-ed for the Los Angeles Daily News, Don Heller (pictured), a Republican, former prosecutor, and the author of the 1978 ballot initiative that reinstated California's death penalty, voiced his support for replacing the death penalty with life without parole. "It makes no sense to prop up such a failed system," he wrote. He urged California voters to support a new ballot initiative that would abolish the state's death penalty, citing the system's "staggering" costs and the risk of executing the innocent. In discussing the failures of the initiative he authored over 30 years ago, he said, "
DPIC has updated its 
After years of reports about the high costs of California's death penalty, including a recent study that found the state has already spent $4 billion on capital punishment resulting in 13 executions, a group of Californians has announced a citizens' initiative to put death penalty repeal on the 2012 ballot. The group, Taxpayers for Justice, includes over 100 law enforcement leaders, in addition to crime-victim advocates and exonerated individuals. Among them is former Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti, whose office pursued dozens of capital cases during his 32 years as a prosecutor. He said, "My frustration is more about the fact that the death penalty does not serve any useful purpose and it's very expensive." The high cost of California's death penalty has gained attention as the state faces major budget cuts. 
The Death Penalty Information Center has prepared a summary of a comprehensive cost study of California's death penalty system recently published by federal Judge Arthur L. Alarcon and Loyola Law School Professor Paula M. Mitchell. The original study is entitled Executing the Will of the Voters?: A Roadmap to Mend or End the California Legislature's Multi-Billion Dollar Death Penalty Debacle, and it was published in a special issue of the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review. Using charts, graphs, and pertinent quotes, DPIC's summary shows how the authors arrived at the $4 billion price tag for the state's death penalty system. The summary illustrates the percentage of costs attributable to trials, appeals and incarceration, and explains why the system is so expensive. It also provides the legislative history of the state's statute and why the authors believe the law may be subject to reversal by the courts. The report and summary conclude with the authors' recommendations for saving the state hundreds of millions of dollars by either sharply curtailing the use of the death penalty or doing away with it completely. See 
Donald Heller (pictured) served as both a California and federal prosecutor and was the author of the state ballot measure that greatly expanded the list of murders eligible for capital punishment. After the trial of one defendant, Heller volunteered to "throw the switch," a comment that earned him the name "Mad Dog." But his views on capital punishment have changed sharply over the years. A recent interview in the Los Angeles Times explored how Heller came to have his greatest regrets for his promotion of the death penalty. He recently testified in California in support of a bill that would lead to ending capital punishment. Heller said he first changed his mind about the death penalty after the execution of Tommy Thompson, who was convicted through what Heller believed to be "a clear abuse of the death penalty law." He realized that the initiative he created "can and may have resulted in the death of an innocent person." Heller debunks many arguments in support of the death penalty, including that it is needed to deter crimes. He said, "Statistically, in a number of states where there is no death penalty, state crime has dropped. I have found from my years as a lawyer in the criminal process that it doesn't deter anyone. When someone kills, they're thinking of satisfying whatever [made them] decide to kill. They never think about the ultimate punishment." He concluded, "My view is that as a civilized society, we've reached the point where capital punishment should be completely abolished." Read full op-ed below.
A new report on the state's death penalty system published by the ACLU of Northern California catalogs numerous intractable problems and waning public support which may lead to the end of capital punishment in the state. According to the report, "California's Death Penalty is Dead: Anatomy of a Failure," the death penalty in California is being slowly abandoned as prosecutors, legislators and taxpayers are increasingly turning to life in prison without parole as an alternative punishment. Only three death sentences were imposed in the state between January - June 2011, a significant decline compared to the same period last year when there were 13. This marks the lowest number of new death sentences within a six-month period since the death penalty was reinstated in 1978. The report also highlights that voters in the 2010 election opted for officials who supported replacing the death penalty over those who aggressively campaigned in favor for the death penalty. A 2011 poll revealed that 63% of likely California voters supported commuting all existing death sentences to life without parole, thereby saving the state hundreds of millions of dollars. The commutation proposal received support from respondents across political party lines and from all regions of the state. Among the problems highlighted in the report are the enormous costs of the death penalty, the long delay in assigning lawyers for death penalty appeals, and the absence of any meaningful return for all the resources spent. 