Why doesn't America use the death penalty more frequently?
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Why doesn't America use the death penalty more frequently?
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Tell me why does the American prison system waste millions of dollars a year housing death row inmates. When they could execute them
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El Guapo
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If you're concerned about costs to taxpayers, you should know that it costs MUCH more to execute someone than to imprison them for life.
It's not even close.
The numbers differ by state, but the reason for the disparity is that the government wants to be as sure as possible that it does not execute an innocent person. Toward that end, much more is spent on pre-trial preparation (most DP cases take about a year to come to trial), more pre-trial motions, more expert witnesses (on both sides), more attorneys (also on both sides), jury sequestration, security (needed because of more publicity in DP trials), an extra sentencing trial, and an exhaustive appeals process.
Also, it is important to remember that most of the additional costs of capital punishment are up-front, occurring before and during the trial itself, whereas most of the costs of life imprisonment are spread over the term of incarceration. Any first-year finance student (or lottery official) can attest that a dollar up-front is WAY more burdensome than a dollar spread over 30-40 years.
Many think the high cost of capital punishment is why violent crime rates are HIGHER in death penalty jurisdictions - because these enormous costs drain resources from police, education, and other government programs that help reduce crime.
Even with all of these precautions in place, innocent people STILL get sentenced to death pretty regularly. In the last 35 years in the U.S., 130 people have been released from death row because they were exonerated by DNA evidence. These are ALL people who were found guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Unfortunately, DNA evidence is not available in most cases. So, as long as the death penalty is in place, you are pretty much GUARANTEED to occasionally execute an innocent person.
Many would argue that is the highest cost of all. |
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Floyd
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They have the right to an exhaustive appeals process, and thank god for that because without it, many of the death row inmates who have been exonerated in light of new DNA evidence would never have gotten the chance to prove their innocence.
It's cases like those that make me think we shouldn't use it at all. |
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