Study highlights the ludicrous expense of the death penalty.

[diddle]

$4,000,000,000 spent on capital punishment cases in California from 1980-2012 for a total of just 13 executions. This study http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/llr/vol44/iss0/ provides evidence that between 1980 and 2012, California spent $4 billion administering death penalty cases while actually executing just 13 individuals.

Don't get me wrong, if the system was different and we weren't condemning innocent people left and right I wouldn't mind it that much. Personally I am against the death penalty just because life in prison seems a far worse punishment than the easy out that is death (I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the "botched" executions that occurred in the last few months).

In the end though the priority is taxpayer money, and capital punishment is expensive as hell. Most people I know who support the death penalty think "this horrible person shouldn't be given free room and board for the rest of their life on taxpayer money" which I agree with, but in the end it is far cheaper to just serve life in prison.

It takes a lot of expensive judicial process and paperwork to legally kill someone.

[Hypasonic]

$4b for 13 executions, they could have built a prison for each of them instead.

[Deleted]

It's simple, we remove the courts and execute them!

*What some people would say most likely.

[breadisfunny]

it would be less expensive to have firing squads.

[diddle]

it would be less expensive to have firing squads.

The cost doesn't come from the method of execution, the cost comes from the fact that legally justifying the killing of someone takes a lot of time and money. It is much more expensive to push the death penalty than it would to just pay for a prisoner's life sentence.

[Deleted]

It's not called the prison-industrial complex for no reason.

[Deleted]

the $4bn cost is just a meaningless shuffling of numbers between organisations in the end. doesnt really affect you.

[drwelfare]

Expedite the process that will save some money.

[nextormento]

Expedite the process that will save some money.

You're right, abolition should come faster.

[Kalis]

The cost doesn't come from the method of execution, the cost comes from the fact that legally justifying the killing of someone takes a lot of time and money. It is much more expensive to push the death penalty than it would to just pay for a prisoner's life sentence.

Cutting out the judicial process would save money, and make lots of bloodthirsty people very happy as well. It's win-win.


Unless you are the poor bugger getting executed without trial, of course.

[Very Tired]

I've always had a problem with the money argument in the death penalty debate. It doesn't actually debate if the death penalty is right/wrong, it basically says, look how hard we can make it in our messed up justice system, might as well just call it off.

[Gsara]

Dont leave them in a special housing unit that costs double of a normal prison unit for 20+ years and it would be a lot cheaper than it is currently. Its not like the money is going to high end lawyers or that appeals take years to even be heard thats driving the cost.

[Kalis]

I've always had a problem with the money argument in the death penalty debate. It doesn't actually debate if the death penalty is right/wrong, it basically says, look how hard we can make it in our messed up justice system, might as well just call it off.

In any system that isn't absolutely error proof, debating the actual rights and wrongs of the Death Penalty is less preferable than debating the cost, as nobody that isn't a complete psychopath would advocate for anything in which innocent people can be killed by the state, so they gloss over that issue.

[Hyve]

Do these costs cover the total fees while they're on Death Row, because the way you're wording it is like the $4 Billion was the cost of the execution itself for 13 people. Still, that's an insane cost.

[Robert3620]

The death penalty is wrong. The cost of it as far as money is the least of it's problems. It serves no other purpose other then revenge. It places the state above the individual. It leaves everyone party to murder when you execute the wrong person.

[poser765]

The death penalty is wrong. The cost of it as far as money is the least of it's problems. It serves no other purpose other then revenge. It places the state above the individual. It leaves everyone party to murder when you execute the wrong person.

I can't help but agree...Also it seems kind of rational to tell someone that taking a life is bad, so we must take your life to punish you.

I don't think I have ever seen a single rational, non emotional justification for capital punishment.

[Spectral]

As per usual - fuckin' lawyers. Their capacity to siphon money out of the system without producing anything of value is truly impressive.

[Deleted]

The only person who is truly justified in killing someone, is the person who that someone killed. So, if you've just been killed by someone, feel free to kill them in turn.

The death penalty is just legalized murder. The systematic slaughtering of human beings.

[ItachiZaku]

I'm fully in favor of the death penalty, the problem is the rights these people receive (seemingly unlimited appeals etc). The entire process needs a do over, so that no innocent people get fried, but also that there are less appeal opportunities, those appeals are expedited, and from initial sentencing to flipping the switch is maybe 3 months tops. I'm 100% behind child killers, cop killers etc being fried, but only when 100% absolutely sure that they are guilty. They are worthless scum that deserve no rights, no rehabilitation, and no consideration of anything - but again, only when 100% guilty.

That shouldn't take more than $5000.

[poser765]

I'm fully in favor of the death penalty, the problem is the rights these people receive (seemingly unlimited appeals etc). The entire process needs a do over, so that no innocent people get fried, but also that there are less appeal opportunities, those appeals are expedited, and from initial sentencing to flipping the switch is maybe 3 months tops. I'm 100% behind child killers, cop killers etc being fried, but only when 100% absolutely sure that they are guilty. They are worthless scum that deserve no rights, no rehabilitation, and no consideration of anything - but again, only when 100% guilty.

That shouldn't take more than $5000.

The only way to ensure that no innocent people get fried is to fry no one.