America's death penalty

A scam is all I can say about it after reading the following excerpt from an economist article. What are my views... I would hate to be on death row but at the same time it may be a cost cut - allow for medicaid to be saved maybe?

The death penalty | A lethal habit | Economist.com: "By one count last year, the death penalty was “on hold” in some form in eight states, thanks to the evidence that it is applied arbitrarily (as in the Washington example), incompetently (as in the Diaz case), incorrectly (Florida has released 22 prisoners from death row on grounds of innocence in 34 years), or with racial bias (blacks get it more often than whites)."