On Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:53:13 +0200, "Edgar"
wrote:


"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...

"Edgar" wrote:

Leaving aside the arguments for and against the death penalty, how can
it possibly be more expensive to execute somebody than to keep him/her in
prison for life?

Pure math.

Assume it costs $1,000/week to keep someone in prison.

That is $52,000/year.

To simplify the math, call it $60,000/year.

If you keep a person in jail 60 years the cost is:

(60years)*($60,000/year) = $3,600,000 lifetime.

The legal costs for a capital case including appeals far exceeds
$3,600,000.

Also the jail costs continue to accrue thus increasing costs while the
legal process continues.

The only people who make out are the lawyers.

Lew


There is a flaw in that argument.
You have not taken into account the fact that there wll also be lawyers fees
for the guy who gets life in prison.
I agree that the lawyers win whichever route is taken but capital punishment
certainly reduces the cost to the taxpayer.

It's not an argument, just an unsubstantiated contention.
No listing of costs, no sources.
Besides that, the cost of incarceration is bourn by the taxpayer.
The great part of legal costs opposing a death sentence are bourn by
anti-death penalty activists and contributors, and they also bear the
responsibility for and most of the costs of years of incarceration due
to delay in carrying out the sentence.
It's akin to the murderer of parents asking for mercy because he's an
orphan.
Not arguing the death penalty here, just faulty argument.
Where are the myth-busters when you need them?

--Vic