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Death Penalty > Life Term?

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The way things are going now, being on California's death row seems cozier than a life term without possibility of parole, the LA Times finds. On death row, you get a single cell, good telephone access and "exclusive control over the television, CD player or other diversions in their cells," among other perks. What about that whole death penalty part? A four-year-old moratorium has stopped the practice, at least for now. And in any case, since 1977, 13 executions have occurred while 71 condemned prisoners died by other causes. 685 are currently on death row, making the state's death row population the largest in the country.

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