The average number of exonerations per year has increased. From 1973-1998, there were an average of 2.96 exonerations per year. Since 1998, the average has risen to 7.6 exonerations per year.
The cost of the death penalty:
A single death penalty case, from the point of arrest to the time of execution, including all appeals, may cost upwards of $3 million. The cost of incarcerating a criminal for life averages about $500,000.
This one, interestingly, makes a lot of people argue that we should get rid of many of the appeals given to accused. The problem with that argument is that it's asking us to get rid of our current constitution as it is the foundation for why these appeals our allowed.
Finally Johnson points out that countries which have abolished the death penalty, e.g. Canada, have seen a drop in violent crimes. This suggests that there isn't much of a deterrent value to the death penalty punishment itself.
