The Death Penalty Costs More
Every study has shown that a death penalty system is significantly more expensive than a system in which the death penalty is not an option. The greatest costs associated with the death penalty occur prior to and during trial, not in post-conviction proceedings. Even if all post-conviction proceedings (appeals) were abolished, the death penalty would still be more expensive than alternative sentences.
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No, the death penalty is cheaper that having one person in a high security prison for life, if you add up the total costs the death penalty is cheaper. Plus those who have committed such crimes deserve to die. How much of taxpayer money must we waste for all these people who are emotionless people who murder for fun. The U.S could use all of that money to go through with president obamas plan for education and high speed rail.
For one far removed from the death chambers of America, simply wouldn’t know the constitutionally mandated appeal process, the extra security and overtime involved in transporting death row inmates, the extra supervision of such men/women, the hidden costs from the offices of governors (including such positions as media reps, hoards of lawyers); Right down to the actual cost of chemicals and the labor to carry out a death sentence, the cost of an American premeditated ceremonial execution killing is about 3 1/2 million dollars. To incarcerate this same death row inmate in a close custody prison (on average) for a lifetime is less than $400,000...or, a savings of about 3 million dollars. How do I know this? I've carried out these barbaric killings.......paid the bills.....seen from inside to the outside the real cost of killing an American citizen.
Ron McAndrew, Florida Prison Warden, Retired
Amnesty Intl. is in error. There are costs studies which have found the death penalty less expensive than true life without parole (LWOP).
It is important to read the studies in detail.
As a general rule, the death penalty cost studies are worthless. Those that purport to compare life without parole costs to death penalty costs are, in most cases, comparing apples to kangaroos not apples to apples.
There is no reason that the death penalty, in general, should be more expensive than LWOP and, in many, if not most cases, the death penalty should be less expensive.
"Death Penalty Cost Studies: Saving Costs over LWOP"
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2010/03/21/death-penalty-cost-studies-saving-costs-over-lwop.aspx
"Duke (North Carolina) Death Penalty Cost Study: Let's be honest"
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2009/06/duke-north-carolina-death-penalty-cost.html
(NOTE: A 2009 study, by one of these authors, found that by ending the death penalty NC might save $11 million , or about $0.11/person/month. I have not read it, yet.)
I was interested in seeing factual evidence on the cost of non-death penalty cases being similar to capital cases, since I find the financial cost—average of $1M is the amount I once heard—to be one of the more convincing arguments against DP. It's disappointing that this evidence wasn't presented. In fact, this line of objection was cut abruptly short in favor of the 'slippery slope' argument about they're-coming-after-life-without-parole-next. WTF? I felt that this was a far weaker objection, and that the sudden switching of tacks got what could have been a strong point lost in the shuffle.
I can only speak from direct experience from the State of Oregon where I both defended and more recently have prosecuted both capital and non capital aggravated murder cases. The process is the same; two separate trials. The amount of work done by defense experts is usually the same and defendants spend similar amounts of time appealing the verdicts and penalty (this is where the overwhelming part of the cost comes in).
But as I said above I would hope we would never make the decision to execute someone simply because it costs less or abandon justice because it costs too much money. Due process is expensive, and it should be.
The death penalty only costs more because opponents have made sure that it does. How much is one bullet? The proper comparison is the cost of the actual penalty, not the cost of the trials, because justice should be the same either way - guilty is guilty. It's ridiculous to say that keeping a murderer imprisoned for 60 years costs less than simply executing him on day one.
I'm glancing at the associated costs and it seems to me that the reason why the Death Penalty costs more is because of the degree of thoroughness. The process is all together more committed to finding the truth so the problem isn't the death penalty, it's that putting someone away for life without parole is easier. Which it shouldn't be as they are effectively the same sentence. The person's life has ended and they are permanently removed from society.
Another question would be why more people have been found innocent on Death Row than Lifers? Is it simply that they don't get the appeals and attention? How is that just?