Death penalty, crime rates and its affect on society

[MissCatholic]

The only benefit in killing someone on death row is that its costs less to keep them.

However if your going to kill them because of the crime they commited and you are pro-death penalty as it costs less to keep them alive. would you prefer them being killed the moment they are sentenced after the appeal. why keep them a live for 15 years it still costs you money.

What is wrong with keeping them in jail. wouldnt you prefer the person that killed your child to rot in a cell 24/7.

[J.R. Brown]

The deterant factor really doesn't have any bearing on my opinion of the death penalty. It's my Christian faith that has really shaped my opinion on the death penalty.

Here's a summary of my opinion of the death penalty from the United Methodist Church website.

We believe the death penalty denies the power of Christ to redeem, restore and transform all human beings. The United Methodist Church is deeply concerned about crime throughout the world and the value of any life taken by a murder or homicide. We believe all human life is sacred and created by God and therefore, we must see all human life as significant and valuable. When governments implement the death penalty (capital punishment), then the life of the convicted person is devalued and all possibility of change in that person's life ends. We believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and that the possibility of reconciliation with Christ comes through repentance. This gift of reconciliation is offered to all individuals without exception and gives all life new dignity and sacredness. For this reason, we oppose the death penalty (capital punishment) and urge its elimination from all criminal codes.

[Richard]

Yes.  A better society.  Less murders and rapists around.

[J.R. Brown]

Yes.  A better society.  Less murders and rapists around.

If they are in prison for life they would have no influence on society.

[Richard]

Yes.  A better society.  Less murders and rapists around.

If they are in prison for life they would have no influence on society.

They tend to escape, or get parole, or let go, and they cost taxes, so obviously your statement is NOT true.

[J.R. Brown]

Yes.  A better society.  Less murders and rapists around.

If they are in prison for life they would have no influence on society.

They tend to escape, or get parole, or let go, and they cost taxes, so obviously your statement is NOT true.

Don't give them parole, don't let them go, don't let them escape. And high taxes being bad for society is an opinion.

[phk]

The death penalty is more expensive than life-in-prison.

[J.R. Brown]

Financial Facts About the Death Penalty


$ Tennessee Study Finds Death penalty Costly, Ineffective

A new report released by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury recommended changes to the stateÕs costly death penalty and called into question its effectiveness in preventing crime. The Office of Research noted that it lacked sufficient data to accurately account for the total cost of capital trials, stating that because cost and time records were not maintained, the Office of Research was unable to determine the total, comprehensive cost of the death penalty in Tennessee." Although noting that, "no reliable data exists concerning the cost of prosecution or defense of first-degree murder cases in Tennessee," the report concluded that capital murder trials are longer and more expensive at every step compared to other murder trials. In fact, the available data indicated that in capital trials, taxpayers pay half again as much as murder cases in which prosecutors seek prison terms rather than the death penalty. Findings in the report include the following:

Death penalty trials cost an average of 48% more than the average cost of trials in which prosecutors seek life imprisonment.
Tennessee District Attorneys General are not consistent in their pursuit of the death penalty.
Surveys and interviews of district attorneys indicate that some prosecutors "use the death penalty as a 'bargaining chip' to secure plea bargains for lesser sentences."
Previous research provides no clear indication whether the death penalty acts as a method of crime prevention.
The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals reversed 29 percent of capital cases on direct appeal.
Although any traumatic trial may cause stress and pain for jurors, the victims' family, and the defendant's family, the pressure may be at its peak during death penalty trials.

(July 2004)
Read the The Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Office of Research's Report, "Tennessee's Death Penalty: Costs and Consequences."


$ Kansas Study Concludes Death Penalty is Costly Policy
In its review of death penalty expenses, the State of Kansas concluded that capital cases are 70% more expensive than comparable non-death penalty cases. The study counted death penalty case costs through to execution and found that the median death penalty case costs $1.26 million. Non-death penalty cases were counted through to the end of incarceration and were found to have a median cost of $740,000. For death penalty cases, the pre-trial and trial level expenses were the most expensive part, 49% of the total cost. The costs of appeals were 29% of the total expense, and the incarceration and execution costs accounted for the remaining 22%. In comparison to non-death penalty cases, the following findings were revealed:

The investigation costs for death-sentence cases were about 3 times greater than for non-death cases.
The trial costs for death cases were about 16 times greater than for non-death cases ($508,000 for death case; $32,000 for non-death case).
The appeal costs for death cases were 21 times greater.
The costs of carrying out (i.e. incarceration and/or execution) a death sentence were about half the costs of carrying out a non-death sentence in a comparable case.
Trials involving a death sentence averaged 34 days, including jury selection; non-death trials averaged about 9 days.
(Performance Audit Report: Costs Incurred for Death Penalty Cases: A K-GOAL Audit of the Department of Corrections) Read DPIC's Summary of the Kansas Cost Report.


$ Death penalty trials very costly relative to county budgets
Capital cases burden county budgets with large unexpected costs, according to a report released by the National Bureau of Economic Research, "The Budgetary Repercussions of Capital Convictions," by Katherine Baicker. Counties manage these high costs by decreasing funding for highways and police and by increasing taxes. The report estimates that between 1982-1997 the extra cost of capital trials was $1.6 billion. (NBER Working Paper No. w8382, Issued in July 2001) Read the abstract.


$ Total cost of Indiana's death penalty is 38% greater than the total cost of life without parole sentences
A study by Indiana's Criminal Law Study Commission found this to be true, assuming that 20% of death sentences are overturned and resentenced to life. (Indiana Criminal Law Study Commission, January 10, 2002)



$ North Carolina spends more per execution than on a non-death penalty murder case
The most comprehensive death penalty study in the country found that the death penalty costs North Carolina $2.16 million more per execution than the a non-death penalty murder case with a sentence of life imprisonment (Duke University, May 1993). On a national basis, these figures translate to an extra cost of over $1 billion spent since 1976 on the death penalty. The study,"The Costs of Processing Murder Cases in North Carolina" is available on line at www-pps.aas.duke.edu/people/faculty/cook/comnc.pdf.



$ Florida spends millions extra per year on death penalty
Florida would save $51 million each year by punishing all first-degree murderers with life in prison without parole, according to estimates by the Palm Beach Post. Based on the 44 executions Florida has carried out since 1976, that amounts to an approximate cost of $24 million for each execution. This finding takes into account the relatively few inmates who are actually executed, as well as the time and effort expended on capital defendants who are tried but convicted of a lesser murder charge, and those whose deathe sentences are overturned on appeal. (Palm Beach Post, January 4, 2000)



$ California spends millions more on capital cases
California spends $90 Million dollars annually above and beyond the ordinary costs of the justice system on capital cases. $78 million of that total is incurred at the trial level (Sacramento Bee, March 18, 1988). In January 2003, despite a budge deficit, California Governor Gray Davis proposed building a new $220 million state of the art death row. (New York Times, January 14, 2003)



$ Florida spent average of $3.2 million per execution from 1973 to 1988
During that time period, Florida spent an estimated $57 million on the death penalty to achieve 18 executions. (Miami Herald, July 10, 1988)



$ Texas death penalty cases cost more than non-capital cases
That is about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years. (Dallas Morning News, March 8, 1992)

[Richard]

That is because the government is doing it.  Contract it out, privatize it, or let me manage it and I'll do it for free.  I'll cover the bullet.  Total cost: $0.

[Trilobyte]

Yes.  A better society.  Less murders and rapists around.

If they are in prison for life they would have no influence on society.

They tend to escape, or get parole, or let go, and they cost taxes, so obviously your statement is NOT true.

The relative number of criminals who escape prison and commit more murders is so small it's not worth discussing. There are many more on death row who are innocent, didn't get a fair trial, etc. It's impossible to justify killing those people.

[Jake]

The death penalty is more expensive than life-in-prison.

Not if you take them out and shoot them it's not

[J.R. Brown]

That is because the government is doing it.  Contract it out, privatize it, or let me manage it and I'll do it for free.  I'll cover the bullet.  Total cost: $0.

I'm not sure what's worse. Someone murdering another human being in cold blood or someone who loves killing so much that they would dedicate a large portion of their life to killing those murderers.

[Richard]

That is because the government is doing it.  Contract it out, privatize it, or let me manage it and I'll do it for free.  I'll cover the bullet.  Total cost: $0.

I'm not sure what's worse. Someone murdering another human being in cold blood or someone who loves killing so much that they would dedicate a large portion of their life to killing those murderers.

That many murderers/rapists?  Damn.  Bring some TNT!

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Ever heard of innocent until proven guilty? Of course it doesn't apply to Texas. And for the record, OJ is guilty.

[Alcon]

I love how macho some people are about the death penalty lately.

[Richard]

Ever heard of innocent until proven guilty?

And after they're found guilty, we execute them.  Of course, if you believe in it, you wouldn't say asinine things such as OJ is guilty.  He is innocent.  UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY.

I love how macho some people are about the death penalty lately.

?

[Erc]

The death penalty exists to serve as a deterrent against crime.  If conclusive evidence could be found that shows that there is no deterrence factor whatsoever, I could be open to changing my view on the death penalty, but I sincerely doubt that that will happen.

Even if that turned out to be the case, I would still support the death penalty in cases where the threat to society if he were to escape is overwhelming (unrepentant serial murderers / rapists / terrorists / etc.)

[Richard]

Imagine putting up all 1,800 or whatever number of people on death row in a line for public execution by hangning.  One every minute on average.  Put it on PPV.  Charge a $50 fee to cover the executions.  Watch the crime rate drop.

[Ebowed]

Imagine putting up all 1,800 or whatever number of people on death row in a line for public execution by hangning.  One every minute on average.  Put it on PPV.  Charge a $50 fee to cover the executions.  Watch the crime rate drop.

You're sick.  We shouldn't enjoy it when the government kills people.

[David S]

I support the death penalty because it is a just and fitting punishment for some violent crimes. If the cost is high its because our justice system makes it that way.  Bullets are cheap.

As to the deterrent effect, it certainly deters the hell out of the person who gets it.

[Redefeatbush04]

The safest (statistically) states are North Dakota (safest), West Virginia, and Northern New England (vermont, new hampshire, maine). These states all do not have the death penalty. The most dangerous states are Nevada (least safe), Arizona, Louisiana, Maryland, South Carolina, Florida, Tennesee, Alaska, California, New Mexico, and Texas. All of these states have the death penalty. It does not improve society.

[Richard]

The safest (statistically) states are North Dakota (safest), West Virginia, and Northern New England (vermont, new hampshire, maine). These states all do not have the death penalty. The most dangerous states are Nevada (least safe), Arizona, Louisiana, Maryland, South Carolina, Florida, Tennesee, Alaska, California, New Mexico, and Texas. All of these states have the death penalty. It does not improve society.

You really are clueless, aren't you?  In order to show causation, all explanatory variates need to be fixed.  Then the focal explanatory variate needs to be changed.  If it does cause something to change, you can establish causation.  Obviously, this won't work.  Example:

A red, poisonous fruit makes people die.  Conclusion: red fruit are poisonous.  This is an error.  And that is what you're saying.

Could it be some other factor?

Imagine putting up all 1,800 or whatever number of people on death row in a line for public execution by hangning.  One every minute on average.  Put it on PPV.  Charge a $50 fee to cover the executions.  Watch the crime rate drop.

You're sick.  We shouldn't enjoy it when the government kills people.

I'm not enjoying it.

[??????????]

The safest (statistically) states are North Dakota (safest), West Virginia, and Northern New England (vermont, new hampshire, maine). These states all do not have the death penalty. The most dangerous states are Nevada (least safe), Arizona, Louisiana, Maryland, South Carolina, Florida, Tennesee, Alaska, California, New Mexico, and Texas. All of these states have the death penalty. It does not improve society.

And those areas with a lower crime rate are also far less populated.

[Smash255]

The safest (statistically) states are North Dakota (safest), West Virginia, and Northern New England (vermont, new hampshire, maine). These states all do not have the death penalty. The most dangerous states are Nevada (least safe), Arizona, Louisiana, Maryland, South Carolina, Florida, Tennesee, Alaska, California, New Mexico, and Texas. All of these states have the death penalty. It does not improve society.

And those areas with a lower crime rate are also far less populated.

Where I live (Long Island) has one of the LOWEST crime and murder rates in any part of the country.  Nassau County which has a population of about 1.35 million had something like 25 murders last year

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

The safest (statistically) states are North Dakota (safest), West Virginia, and Northern New England (vermont, new hampshire, maine). These states all do not have the death penalty. The most dangerous states are Nevada (least safe), Arizona, Louisiana, Maryland, South Carolina, Florida, Tennesee, Alaska, California, New Mexico, and Texas. All of these states have the death penalty. It does not improve society.

And those areas with a lower crime rate are also far less populated.

New York City, which has 8 million people, has a murder rate below the national average.