Research & Publications

"The Hidden Death Tax" is a comprehensive report on the costs of California’s death penalty, analyzing for the first time records of actual costs in California death penalty trials. The report demonstrates that while California tax payers spend well over $100 million every year on the death penalty, it is unclear just how much money is being spent. At the post-conviction level, California taxpayers pay at least $117 million each year seeking execution of the people currently on death row, or $175,000 per inmate per year. The largest single expense is the extra cost of simply housing people on death row, $90,000 per year per inmate more than housing in the general prison population. Executing all of the people currently on death row or waiting for them to die there will cost California an estimated $4 billion more than if all of the inmates on death row were sentenced to die of disease, injury or old age.

"Death by Geography" reviews the death-sentencing practices, public safety records, and spending practices of the 24 most populous California counties. The report reveals that while the vast majority of California counties have largely abandoned execution in favor of simply sentencing people to die in prison, just 10 counties continue to aggressively pursue executions, accounting for nearly 85 percent of death sentences since 2000.

This report explains in detail the joint assessment the ACLU of California on government-funded video surveillance cameras and the current state of video surveillance in California.

The Radelet-Pierce is the first state-wide study of the role of race, ethnicity and geography in death sentencing in California. The authors reviewed all homicides that occurred in California from 1990-99, using records from the FBI and Vital Statistics. During this period, 302 death sentences were returned (close to half the number of people currently on death row in California). The study finds that race and ethnicity of victim, place, and community diversity are key factors in determining who is sentenced to die in this state.