To the editor:

Currently, the Kansas Legislature is debating whether to pass Senate Bill 208, which would amend the current death penalty law in the state of Kansas. Kansas has not carried out an execution since 1965, but the government still places inmates on death row.

Senate Bill 208 would not change the fate for the 10 inmates currently on death row, but it could potentially change the outcomes of many trials yet to come. It is cheaper for taxpayers to keep inmates in prison for the rest of their lives versus sentencing them to death. Although some of the inmates have committed horrible crimes, it is not our responsibility to decide whether a person lives or dies.

Senate Bill 208 allows a more humane way to deal with prisoners and also benefits the pockets of the taxpayers in the state of Kansas.