While there is a slight possibility that several innocent people will be saved, voting no on Proposition 34 is essential because it would save us millions of dollars and will allow us to fund much more on important subjects, such as education.

It is time that people are well informed of Prop 34, so they know what is best in the future of this great state. Prop 34 repeals the death penalty and replaces it with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Prison overcrowding was not always the problem, but now we are forced to build $100 million maximum-security prisons.

Our state cannot afford to keep spending money on incarcerating dangerous rapists, kidnappers or murderers. If we vote no, we will not contribute to the government’s reckless spending and “taxpayers will spend at least $50,000 annually to care for each convicted killer who didn’t think twice about killing innocent children, cops, mothers and fathers.” (Voterguide.gov).

The ultimate costs we are facing are the thousands of lives that are taken by these murderers and the families waiting for justice. As an undergraduate student at California State University, Stanislaus, I have witnessed how our education system is quickly diminishing as the years pass. Please vote no on Prop 34, so we can save money and properly fund our schools.

Noel Gonzalez, Patterson