On Tuesday I had an argument with @Imajyn about the cost of the death penalty. I caught this tweet:
I'm not talking about the death penalty. I <3 the death penalty. WAY cheaper than life in prison. I'm talking about eugenics (http://twitter.com/Imajyn/status/4664075202)
And I thought I ought to educate the fellow. Some of the things that were said in the ensuing argument would have been amusing had we not been talking about a life or death issue. It got me thinking about how amazing it is to me that people still believe in this myth, that the death penalty costs less than life in prison. Even when you stop to think about it, it doesn't make sense, and yet people insist it is true. I suppose none of them are really stopping to think about it. Regardless, I was looking for some good facts to sling his way and prove my point, when I came across this excellent article in the New York Times: ... keeping inmates on death row in Florida costs taxpayers $51 million a year more than holding them for life without parole. North Carolina has put 43 people to death since 1976 at $2.16 million per execution. The eventual cost to taxpayers in Maryland for pursuing capital cases between 1978 and 1999 is estimated to be $186 million for five executions.
Perhaps the most extreme example is California, whose death row costs taxpayers $114 million a year beyond the cost of imprisoning convicts for life. The state has executed 13 people since 1976 for a total of about $250 million per execution. This is a state whose prisons are filled to bursting (unconstitutionally so, the courts say) and whose government has imposed doomsday-level cuts to social services, health care, schools and parks.
Read more: Editorial - High Cost of Death Row - NYTimes.com Technorati Tags: death row, death penalty, capital punishment, budget, cost, execution, prison, crime, law
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You are absoulutly correct, it does not even make the slightest sense to think that the death penalty costs less then keeping an inmate in prison for life. Everything from the investigation to intial trial, to all the appeals, (because there is just never one appeal, with the risk of excuting falsley)costs more.Even what seems like insingnifacant cost such as the cost of the last meal can easliy be six hundred dollors! And the cost of crowd control can cost a state up to 130000! Not too mention the extra secrtuity an inmate needs after being sentenced. The unique cost of capital trials makes up the differences and results in the death penalty being millions of dollars more expensive than imprisoning a man for life.