Elisabeth Semel - How to Abolish the Death Penalty Grace Cathedral - Grace Cathedral According to Amnesty International, 70 countries permit the death penalty. During 2007, 24 countries, 88% in China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States alone, executed 1,252 people.And here in California, one of 36 states with the death penalty, the death penalty system costs taxpayers $114 million per year beyond the costs of keeping convicts locked up for life.In response to a critical shortage of qualified and adequately funded counsel for individuals under death sentence, the Death Penalty Clinic at UC Berkeley’s School of Law was created in part to represent men and women in capital post-conviction proceedings in Alabama and California by offering a program that helps students develop outstanding legal skills and to serve clients facing capital punishment.These complex cases teach students about law, courts, and the justice system, and prepare them to enter the profession with a commitment to fundamental rights - Grace Cathedral