ALTERNATIVES
to the DEATH PENALTY
While many Americans support the death penalty, this support significantly decreases when alternatives are presented. In its 2024 annual crime survey, Gallup found that 53% of Americans favored capital punishment, marking a five-decade low. And In 2019 poll, Gallup found that when given a choice between the death penalty and life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, 60% of Americans preferred life imprisonment, while only 36% favored the death penalty. Offering alternatives, like life sentences with restitution, also reduces support for the death penalty.
The Case for Life Sentences
Opting for life sentences over the death penalty saves considerable time and resources, but more importantly, it preserves lives. Research shows that murder rates in states with and without the death penalty are comparable, proving that alternative sentencing does not increase crime.
Redirecting Resources
The financial burden of death sentences is considerably higher than life imprisonment. Abolishing the death penalty would free up funds that could be better spent on services for victims' families, law enforcement and public defense.
Resources for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
Key Reasons to Oppose the Death Penalty
INNOCENCE
Risk of executing the wrong person
COST
Death sentences are more expensive than life sentences
ARBITRARINESS
Inconsistent application of the death penalty
FAITH
Ethical concerns about state-sanctioned killing
INNOCENCE
Wrongful Convictions
Since 1989, there have been 2,231 documented exonerations in the United States—many made possible by DNA testing—with at least 652 involving mistaken eyewitness identification. In Georgia, 13 of the state’s 32 documented exonerations have involved mistaken identification. [Source]
According to data from the Innocence Project, mistaken identification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions later overturned through DNA testing. It has contributed to more than 70% of those cases.
One early example is the case of Jerry Banks, who was convicted in Georgia in 1975 and sentenced to death on two counts of murder. His conviction was overturned based on newly discovered evidence that was allegedly known to the state. (Banks v. State, 218 S.E.2d 851 (Ga. 1975)). Banks died by suicide following the end of his marriage, before he could fully rebuild his life. His estate later reached a settlement with the county for the benefit of his children.
Contributing Causes of Wrongful Convictions
(based on the first 325 DNA exonerations)
Note: Totals exceed 100% because multiple factors can contribute to a single wrongful conviction.
"The number of DNA exonerations has demonstrated that innocent people are convicted and sentenced to death. While eyewitness testimony commonly is believed to be one of the most reliable and incriminating types of evidence, in fact mistaken eyewitness identification testimony is the leading cause of wrongful convictions in the United States."
Mark Loudon-Brown
Senior Attorney
Southern Center for Human Rights
COST
The High Cost of the Death Penalty
The death penalty costs significantly more than life imprisonment without parole.
The most comprehensive study to date on the cost of capital punishment was conducted in North Carolina and found that each execution costs $2.16 million more than a comparable murder case resulting in a life sentence.
Georgia Facts on Cost
Georgia has never conducted a comprehensive study of the financial impact of its death penalty. However, the case of Brian Nichols illustrates the high cost. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the trial phase alone cost the state more than $3 million.
Why Is It More Expensive?
Death penalty cases cost more at every stage. Trials are longer and more complex due to higher stakes, requiring extensive jury selection, expert witnesses and additional investigation. A separate penalty phase follows conviction, adding more time and expense. State and federal appeals can last for years and involve significant legal resources. Housing death row inmates also costs more due to higher security requirements and the maintenance of execution facilities.
To learn more about the cost of the death penalty, visit the Death Penalty Information Center
ARBITRARY APPLICATION
The death penalty is intended to punish only the most brutal crimes. But in reality, its application in Georgia is often biased, arbitrary and unfair. Several factors influence who receives a death sentence more than the crime itself, including race, class and geography.
Race plays a major role. According to a 2022 analysis, prosecutors in Georgia sought the death penalty in 11% of murder cases with white victims, compared to just 5% in similar cases with Black victims—meaning capital sentencing was more than twice as likely when the victim was white. The study also found that over half of defendants sentenced to death in white-victim cases would not have received the death penalty if their victims had been Black. These disparities persist even when accounting for other factors.
Class disparities are stark. About 80% of those accused of crimes in Georgia cannot afford their own attorneys, yet funding for public defenders has been repeatedly cut in recent years. The Georgia Public Defender Standards Council, charged with ensuring quality legal defense, has seen its funding and authority diminished by the state legislature. This undermines Georgia’s constitutional obligation to provide effective counsel to all defendants.
Geography also affects outcomes. Because district attorneys in each county have sole discretion over pursuing the death penalty, where a crime is committed can be as decisive as what crime was committed. In metro Atlanta, individuals accused of murder in suburban counties like Cobb and Douglas are more likely to face the death penalty than those in urban counties such as Fulton or DeKalb. For example, someone who commits a murder on Paces Ferry Road in Cobb County faces a much higher risk of a death sentence than if the same crime occurred just across the Chattahoochee River in Fulton County.
"The reality is that capital punishment in America is a lottery. It is a punishment that is shaped by the constraints of poverty, race, geography and local politics."
Bryan Stevensonn
Death Row Lawyer
FAITH
A Multifaith Call to End the Death Penalty
Across many faith traditions, the core values of justice, mercy and the sanctity of life call us to reject the death penalty. Taking a life in the name of justice denies the possibility of redemption and healing, not only for the person sentenced, but for our communities as a whole.
In the teachings of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and other spiritual traditions, mercy is not weakness, it is sacred strength. Many sacred texts call on us to seek justice with compassion, to uphold the dignity of every human being and to leave ultimate judgment to the Divine.
The death penalty perpetuates a cycle of violence and falls disproportionately on the poor, the marginalized and people of color. A truly just society must rise above retribution and choose accountability, restoration and the protection of life.
People of faith and conscience can lead the way in ending capital punishment—affirming that every person is more than their worst act.