In response to Berenice Weeks' letter, the pro-death penalty argument that the criminal justice system and American taxpayers are saving money by putting murderers to death is simply not true ("Death penalty helps U.S. justice system," Nov. 30).

Every aspect of a death penalty case is substantially higher, including the investigation, trial, appeals, incarceration and of course the execution. In California alone, for example, according to the Los Angeles Times, the death penalty system costs taxpayers $114 million per year beyond the cost of merely locking up murderers for life.

On a side note, in all practicality, Republicans should be anti-death penalty; that's hundreds of millions, or maybe billions, of dollars more per year we could be putting towards the debacle in Iraq.