New Mexico abolishes the death penalty

Just as abolitionists were worrying that 2009 would be a bad year with the number of executions already passing 20, New Mexico yesterday abolished the death penalty. With Maryland likely to follow, perhaps a corner is beginning to be turned. I have advocated for a couple of years now that the moral argument, however much justified, will never win, and that economics is the key - it costs far more to execute someone than to keep them in prison for life. As America slips deeper into recession, the abolitionists must seize the moment. In the end Americans vote, like most, with their pocket books. Their approach to the death penalty may be no different.