Drop costly pursuit of death penalty

In regards to the budget shortfall in DuPage County, before the county goes to the taxpayers for more money I think they need to re-examine some of their current spending decisions.

Will DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett please tell the public why he insists on wasting hundreds of thousands of tax dollars by pursuing the death penalty against Brian Dugan? While I support the death penalty and I think Brian Dugan is deserving of the death penalty if convicted, he is already in prison serving a life sentence or two and will never get out. Spending taxpayer dollars to prosecute him is a waste of valuable time and money that would be better directed toward much needed services in the county.

Not only are the taxpayers paying to prosecute him but they will pay for his public defense. If Dugan receives the death penalty, he will get automatic appeals that will continue to cost taxpayers money. I heard it could cost more than $1 million to prosecute Dugan.

Most of the time I support and respect the decisions made by Joe Birkett and the DuPage State's Attorney's office, but I find this decision very irresponsible to the taxpayers of DuPage County.

M. Chambers

Naperville