In a clear national trend, seven states (Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and South Carolina) have used pentobarbital instead of sodium thiopental in their executions in 2011. The most recent such execution was that of Donald Beaty in Arizona on May 25, following a temporary stay as the state made a sudden switch to the new drug. Ohio is the only one of the seven states to use pentobarbital as the sole drug in its lethal-injection process. At least five states (Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and South Carolina) that acquired sodium thiopental through an overseas source have had the drug seized by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. In addition, Arizona was instructed by the DEA not to use its foreign sodium thiopental just prior to the May 25 execution. Arkansas and California also have supplies of sodium thiopental originally obtained from a supplier in Great Britain. In Nebraska, questions about its supply of sodium thiopental--obtained from a company in India--has postponed the execution of Carey Dean Moore. South Dakota's sodium thiopental was also reportedly obtained from India. Other states like Georgia, Louisiana, and Virginia have indicated they intend to switch to pentobarbital in future executions.
A new study of California's death penalty found that taxpayers have spent more than $4 billion on capital punishment since it was reinstated in 1978, or $308 million for each of the 13 executions carried out since then. The study, conducted by U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Arthur L. Alarcon and Loyola Law School Professor Paula M. Mitchell estimated that capital trials, enhanced security on death row and legal representation for capital defendants add $184 million to California's budget annually. California has the largest death row in the country and has not had an execution since 2006 due to legal challenges to its lethal injection protocol. The report's authors concluded that unless profound (and more costly) reforms are made, the capital punishment system will continue to exist mostly in theory while exacting an untenable cost. Judge Alarcon and Professor Mitchell forecast the cost of maintaining the death penalty will increase to $9 billion by 2030, when the state's death row will likely grow to well over 1,000 inmates. Michael Millman, Executive Director of the California Appellate Project, said more than 300 inmates on death row are awaiting to be appointed attorneys for their state appeals and federal habeas corpus petitions. Millman said there are fewer than 100 attorneys in the state who are qualified to handle capital cases because the work is dispiriting and demanding, and the compensation inadequate. Read more of the report's findings below.
Current and former law enforcement officials in California recently discussed their views on the future of the death penalty during a conference in San Francisco. Jeanne Woodford (pictured left), former Warden of San Quentin prison, said that the time has come to end executions in the United States: "I have had the opportunity to view this issue from every point of view. I absolutely am passionate about the position that it's time to end the death penalty in the United States." She recommended life in prison without possibility of parole as an alternative to the death penalty, saying that it "is a real sentence," but one that "gives inmates opportunity to change, to work, to give back to state, and to make restitution to the victims' families." George Gascon (pictured right), San Francisco's District Attorney, said the death penalty "is an imperfect tool." He cited the possibility of wrongful convictions, the high costs of executions, and the lack of closure for victims' families.
Jeanne Woodford (pictured), the former director of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Warden of San Quentin during 4 executions, recently became the Executive Director of 
George Gascon (pictured), San Francisco's District Attorney and a former chief of police, recently discussed his concerns about California's death penalty. He wrote, "Despite saying that I wouldn't rule out the death penalty as district attorney, I want to make clear that I have serious misgivings concerning the potential for wrongful convictions and the disproportionate impact of the application of the death penalty on racial minorities. Moreover, victims' families are subjected to an emotional roller coaster as they wait decades for justice and closure. I am also concerned about the increasing financial impact that death penalty prosecutions have on our already overburdened criminal justice system." Gascon particularly pointed to the problem of mistake: "Given the irreversibility of the death penalty, the possibility of a wrongful conviction can never be overstated." Read his full op-ed below.
A recent poll conducted by David Binder Research found strong support for commuting all of the sentences of California's 712 death row inmates to life in prison without parole and requring them to pay restitution to the victims' families. Of the 800 voters surveyed, 63% supported the commutations, which would save the state $1 billion over five years. California currently faces a $13 billion budget gap. Voters from across the political spectrum favored the idea of commuting all the state's death sentences and putting the money saved towards public education and law enforcement. Support was highest among independents (70%), followed by Democrats at 64% and Republicans at 58%. The proposal was also popular throughout the state, with Bay Area voters expressing the most support (70%).