State Budgets Balance Better Without Death Penalty?

In our current economy, everyone is looking for new ways to save money. Average citizens are trying to cut their monthly expenses. Companies are attempting to cut production costs. Government officials are trying to balance their budgets. The news is packed with talk of saving money on all of these levels. CNN.com presented an article titled, "Budget concerns force states to reconsider the death penalty." In the article, it discusses attempts by some states, including Kansas, New Mexico, and Colorado, to get rid of the death penalty. While the discussion of abolishing the death penalty is not news, as it has been a long-debated topic for many reasons, the recent justification for abolishing the death penalty has become the cost. Some states are looking to discontinue seeking the death penality in criminal prosecutions because death penality trials cost significantly more than non-death penalty trials. Though the morality and the effectiveness of the death penality as a means of justice can be continually debated from either side, is cost an appropriate factor for determining how justice should be served?