somebody else confessed. florida leads the nation in exonerating death row prisoners. going back and saying we know we ve been planning to kill you, but now we believe you are innocent. good thing we didn t go too fast. florida is number one in that in the nation. it s not just the total number of exonerations that makes florida so impressive. for every three prisoners florida has killed, florida has said to another prisoner, actually, we messed up in your case. 3-1. for every three they have killed, they have said to one, we messed up in your case, you are free to go, good thing we didn t go too fast. since the supreme court cleared the way for states to begin executing prisoners again in 1976, florida governors have been executing prisoners at an average rate of about two a year. that has not been fast enough, though, for florida s current governor, rick scott. he s been going twice that fast. eight times since he took office in january 2011, governor scott has given the order to kil
passing in maryland and maine. still too early to tell if washington, itself, will follow suit. but voters in minnesota said no to placing a ban on gay marriage in the state s constitution. californians voted for repeal to the death penalty. the sentences of 700 death row prisoners will now be changed to life in prison. in oklahoma they voted to wipe out all affirmative action programs in state government hiring, education, and contracting practices. also a coup for all the women out there. we will have a record number of women in the senate. beginning in 2013, i believe. 18 is the number. i believe also the first openly gay female senator. that s right. first lbgt. interesting. get more. the days move along. interesting firsts. in other news, the north east is bracing for another major storm today. airlines canceling flights. much more on that. the nor easter on the way to a hard hit area. we ll have that and a lot more after abc comes right back after
we know the cost in california is $185 million a year. but now you supporters of the death penalty are going to have to tell us the benefit. donald heller who wrote the california death penalty said that when he wrote it, he gave no thought absolutely to how much it would cost and now, he says, quote, i am convinced now that it has never deterred anyone from committing a murder. and that was supposed to be your benefit. your benefit from the death penalty was supposed to be a lower murder rate. murders deterred. there s no evidence statistical or otherwise that the death penalty delivered that benefit and we now have a report showing that giving california death row prisoners life without parole is much cheaper than continues to try to work through all the legal hurdles to get to that
people? in your cost benefit analysis of the death penalty, what is the benefit? we know the cost in california is $185 million a year. but now you supporters of the death penalty are going to have to tell us the benefit. donald heller who wrote the california death penalty said that when he wrote it, he gave no thought absolutely to how much it would cost and now, he says, quote, i am convinced now that it has never deterred anyone from committing a murder. and that was supposed to be your benefit. your benefit from the death penalty was supposed to be a lower murder rate. murders deterred. there s no evidence statistical or otherwise that the death penalty delivered that benefit and we now have a report showing that giving california death row
davis was convicted almost entirely on unreliable eyewitness testimony, nothing else links him, no crime, to the crime at all. no gun, no dna. no fingerprints. most of the witnesses later recanted or changed their stories. america s justice system allows death row prisoners to file appeals and to fight their senses, but because he had no money, davis was forced to rely on a probono firm and when his funding was cut, the firm lost most of its legal team, and they were unable to do important interviews and investigations. davis appeals were rejected. the supreme court refused to grant him a retrial because of procedural reasons. the doubt that plagues his conviction led three jurors from his original trial, three jurors, to urge the board not to