The death penalty was put back on the books in California in 1978 and since then 13 people have been executed. The LA Times has reported it has cost the State of California $4 Billion to carry out these executions at a cost of about $308 Million per execution.
The ballot measure would replace the death penalty with life in prison w/o the possibility of parole. And inmates currently on death row would live out life in prison instead of execution.
The United States is one of the few countries with the death penalty and very few people understand the costs involved with administering this penalty. Most people in the criminal justice system would agree life in prison w/o possibility of parole is a far cheaper alterantive. This would include judges, prison administrators, lawyers and others who know what is involved in death penalty cases.
Here's a link http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/23/11360216-california-voters-to-consider-ending-capital-punishment?lite
I wonder how much it costs in Texas?
ReplyDeleteNot as much I bet. I wonder what would happen if we got the ACLU out of the prison system, laws were actually enforced, and hippies got out of politics?
A well ordered, law abiding, drug shunning, responsible society is my guess. There is a revolution coming and those of us who are fed up with the lawless criminals running our streets, and daycare prison system which fails at every level, are about to take matters into our own hands. You want to see blood in the streets? That's where this country seems to be going. Keep pushing and eventually people will start pushing back.
I feel very safe when I am out day or night in this country. I have travelled over a good portion of the world without incident and even in the middle of a demonstration in South Korea.
DeleteThe death penalty does not deter crime and there is not a shered of scientific data to support that it deters crime. It costs millions to carry out a death penalty.. even in Texas with all the appeals and legal issues that can go on for many, years. Death is not a penalty but life without hope of parole in a small piece of real estate living in a confined area is punishment.
Any Judge or Prosecutor will tell you it is cheaper to keep them behind bars for life. Don't believe it ask one and they will run down the process involved for capital punishment.
Yes but the point is it shouldn't cost that much to kill those rotten SOB's. It only costs that much because we let the lefties like the ACLU get away with all their nonsense. Time to take America back!
DeleteI seem to recall a number of death row inmates as well as others cleared via DNA and the Innocence Project. Given this real world set of facts, I can only wonder how many innocent people were put to death. Elimination of the death penalty brings the probability of an innocent person being put to death to ZERO. A few years back several governors of states commuted sentences to life w/o parole due to all the DNA evidence and failure to disclose evidence to the defense problematic in that it would have cleared defendants.
ReplyDeleteIf someone is going to be put to death I would like to be 100% certain the right person is paying the price. The costs associated with imposing the death penalty make this act of retribution a very heavy burden on taxpayers. I am for incarceation for these societal misfits.
Get real ! They are the exception and not the rule. I don't disagree that there have been some who have paid the price when they shouldn't have however in those cases where there is no doubt I don't see why you would want to toss the baby out with the bath water. Take Charles Manson as an example. Why is he still alive costing taxpayers how much a year? When an individual has committed such atrocities and cannot be ever trusted to re enter society ever again i.e. serial killers, serial rapists, etc. they should be promptly put to death. Period, end of discussion. Tell the ACLU to shove it, there is no appeal for these animals.
DeleteCharles Manson was up for parole a couple of weeks ago and it was denied. His next opportunity will be in 12 years and he will be in his 90's and more than likely deceased at that point in time.
DeleteManson received the death penalty at his trial but it was commuted to life w/o parole when the California death penalty was declared unconstitutional. It was back on the books in 1978.
Here's a link to the Idaho Prison population http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47192444/ns/local_news-boise_id/
ReplyDeleteIt works out to 533/100k of population based on a headcount of 1.5 million people in Idaho. Add in the numbers of people in local jails and we are probably at or near the average of 760/100k of population in prison or jail.
This is on the news wires today as yet another innocent man is about to be released from prison. The death penalty was not an issue here but he did serve a long time and was innocent.
ReplyDeletehttp://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/30/11466476-new-dna-testing-may-free-convicted-colorado-rapist-killer?lite
.22 shells cost about 3 cents each . I'll buy the 1st case, that will solve 5000 problems.
ReplyDeleteNice catch phrase but the reality is we are a nation of laws and can only sustain things by adherence to our laws and norms of society. They system has flaws, dishonest lawyers, cops and all manner of things that can render an innocent person guilty. A death penalty carried out is something that can't be undone. The system is riddled with miscarriage of justice and closing the door on making a wrong right makes me think twice about the death penalty.
DeleteThe reason that the death penalty doesn't work in its current form is that there is no certainty that it will ever be applied . If someone is sentanced to death it will be decades before it is carried out if it ever is. The deterent is deluted to the point that it is meaningless.
ReplyDeleteA society cannot survive long term without a sense of right and wrong and we have lost that.In todays world nothing is right or wrong and there are very few boundrys that cannot be crossed. I feel that the death penalty sets one of those very important boundreys and shbould be applied swifly an certainly in cases where ther is no doubt of guilt.
The inherent problem with "swiftly and certainly" in carrying out death sentences is we have a number of people condemed to death by jury trials who have later been found to be innocent. Corrupt cops, prosecutors and incompetent public defenders are part and parcel of our legal system. As long as we have something less than 100% certitude in the guilt of someone, we need to be very careful how we apply the death sentence. Also, where is the evidence to support the death penalty is a deterent to crime. The reality is there is no evidence to support the death penalty deters crime.
DeleteSo we continue the path of not holding criminals accountable and resort to incarcerating them all the while whining about how much it costs to incarcerate. This leads to thinking maybe we can fix them So instead of building more jails and prisons we release these idiots back into society because they attended some twelve step program and are now cured. Meanwhile they continue to prey on the innocent, crimes go unpunished, and the only people who lose are the victims. If you want to dump the death sentence build more prisons and be willing to bear the costs, otherwisefigure out how to identify which ones are definitely guilty and expedite their executions.
DeleteAs far as I know no one who has been exacuted has killed another person. That seems like a deterant to me. It must be a terrible thing going through life being uncertain of everything.
ReplyDelete