The Washington Post’s Robert Barnes and Maria Glod reports that death sentences are at their lowest since the death penalty was made legal again 33 years ago. Courts issued 106 death sentences last year compared with 328 in 1994 (the highest year for death sentences).

This is because crime is down and also because broke states don’t have the money to go through the many appeals associated with death penalty cases. Like the national re-examination of incarceration, fiscal pragmatism arguments now resonate when it comes to criminal justice issues. This wasn’t the case just a few years ago, when elected officials pledged to be “tough on crime,” regardless of the literal costs.

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