“Into the Abyss” is a film that explores both why people kill and why the state kills.  
On March 6, Stanislaus County’s District Attorney and Deputy Public Defender answered questions regarding the death penalty after the Werner Herzog film “Into the Abyss” was shown at the State Theater in Modesto. The purpose of this event was to educate voters for the November ballot.
“Into the Abyss” is a documentary about a triple homicide case in Conroe, Texas that allows the audience to enter into the lives of the victims’ families along with the actual perpetrators as well. A state executioner and a pastor who have both been with death row prisoners as they’ve taken their final breaths are also interviewed.
In November, California voters will get the chance to vote in favor of or against the SAFE California Act, which would replace California’s death penalty with life imprisonment sentences.
Stanislaus County’s District Attorney Birgit Fladager and Deputy Public Defender Greg Spiering maintain opposite positions on the death penalty. Their goal last Tuesday wasn’t to persuade the audience, but to inform them for the upcoming ballot.
“In the state of California, when you add up the costs of the death penalty versus the cost of life without parole, I think it’s three times more expensive for the death penalty based upon litigation expenses and incarceration expenses,” Spiering said.
The cost is more expensive for the death penalty, but the state takes into account the wishes of the victims; families as depicted in the film.
“I’ve been directly involved in two death penalty cases,” Fladager said. “I think it’s a difficult decision for anyone to make whether you’re a prosecutor, a defense attorney handling the case, a juror who’s called upon to make that decision or the judge who ultimately decides yes or no that’s the correct decision whether he agrees with that jury or not. It should be difficult. It’s supposed to be difficult because it matters.”
“Into the Abyss” is just one of the many sources of information that California voters could utilize if they’re unsure about their viewpoint on the SAFE California Act campaign.