Research proves that the death penalty is ineffective; it does not deter crime, and it is extremely expensive to administer. While most incarcerated individuals – on death row or otherwise – are guilty, we cannot risk executing the innocent individuals wrongfully sentenced to death. Studies by the Death Penalty Information Center show that murder rates tend to be higher in the South (where the imposition of the death penalty is the highest) compared to the Northeast United States (where the death penalty is less commonly applied). As innocence organizations across the country can attest to, the criminal justice system does not always get it right – even for the most heinous of crimes. As long as the death penalty is in place, we risk executing an innocent person. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 165 death row inmates have been exonerated since 1973. The state of Texas executed Cameron Todd Willingham in 2004 despite strong evidence of his innocence. In 2000, Illinois Governor George Ryan placed a moratorium on the penalty after 13 men had been exonerated from death row since 1977. Following Governor Ryan’s lead, and after the state conducted extensive studies, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a law abolishing the death penalty in 2011. The cost of capital punishment is extraordinary. Since 1978, California has spent more than $4 billion administering the death penalty, or more than $308 million per person for each of the 13 people who have been executed since the death penalty was reinstated. Conversely, it costs approximately $200,000 to $300,000 to convict and sentence an individual to life without the possibility of parole. If those sentenced to death received life sentences instead, we accomplish the same deterrent effect of the death penalty: criminals remain off the streets for the rest of their lives. The money saved could be spent on improving the criminal justice system, such as increasing public safety or providing resources to help prevent wrongful convictions.