Capital punishment
Homework #7
“Capital Punishment”
Due by Friday February 28th 11:55pm Economically speaking in my opinion it does make more sense for someone to spend life in prison as opposed to the death penalty. An article form California’s Mountain News states, “According to statistics provided by the office of California 's nonpartisan Legislative Analyst, the current annual cost for maintaining an inmate in a state prison is $47,102. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, however, places the number at $44,563. But the alternative-the death penalty-may cost taxpayers even more. Published reports by both the Northern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and USA Today say it costs an additional $90,000 a year, including the cost of appeals, to house prisoners on death row than in the general inmate population.” This statement helps prove that economically there is a higher cost economically for the death penalty. One website noted the following, “Texas death penalty cases cost more than non-capital cases
Each death penalty case in Texas costs taxpayers about $2.3 million. That is about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years. ("Executions Cost Texas Millions," Dallas Morning News, March 8, 1992).” I don’t know about you but wouldn’t you want your taxpayer dollars to go elsewhere? I sure would. The same website also stated an assessment of costs of capital punishment in California they went on to conclude the following, “The authors calculated that, if the Governor commuted the sentences of those remaining on death row to life without parole, it would result in an immediate savings of $170 million per year, with a savings of $5 billion over the next 20 years.” This only further strengthens my opinion that it is better economically to spend life in prison as apposed to sending them to death row.
Works
“Capital Punishment”
Due by Friday February 28th 11:55pm Economically speaking in my opinion it does make more sense for someone to spend life in prison as opposed to the death penalty. An article form California’s Mountain News states, “According to statistics provided by the office of California 's nonpartisan Legislative Analyst, the current annual cost for maintaining an inmate in a state prison is $47,102. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, however, places the number at $44,563. But the alternative-the death penalty-may cost taxpayers even more. Published reports by both the Northern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and USA Today say it costs an additional $90,000 a year, including the cost of appeals, to house prisoners on death row than in the general inmate population.” This statement helps prove that economically there is a higher cost economically for the death penalty. One website noted the following, “Texas death penalty cases cost more than non-capital cases
Each death penalty case in Texas costs taxpayers about $2.3 million. That is about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years. ("Executions Cost Texas Millions," Dallas Morning News, March 8, 1992).” I don’t know about you but wouldn’t you want your taxpayer dollars to go elsewhere? I sure would. The same website also stated an assessment of costs of capital punishment in California they went on to conclude the following, “The authors calculated that, if the Governor commuted the sentences of those remaining on death row to life without parole, it would result in an immediate savings of $170 million per year, with a savings of $5 billion over the next 20 years.” This only further strengthens my opinion that it is better economically to spend life in prison as apposed to sending them to death row.
Works
Cited: Barr, Glenn. "The Cost of Life Without Parole." Mountain News. N.p., 24 Mar. 2011. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. . "Costs of the Death Penalty." DPIC. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. .