Morals of Executions

[Minimalist]

There has been good evidence from various US state prison systems that capital punishment (its current implementations anyway) doesn't even have the merit of being financially beneficial. California in fact took billions of dollars worth hit explicitly because of their system of capital punishment.

I don't have any numbers to support this, but wouldn't killing people who have been sentenced to life in prison be more cost effective than supporting them to old age with food, shelter, medication, entertainment (tvs) etc? just a thought.

No. Not by a long shot.

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In 2009, a budget deficit in thirty-one states gave a boost to any measure thought to save money, including the abolition of the death penalty. In New Mexico, supporters thought that this financial situation created a favorable atmosphere in which to advance their cause. Governor Richardson, who had supported the death penalty as a member of the U.S. Congress and opposed abolishing it in past years, said he was keeping an open mind. It was believed the governor supported abolition of the death penalty partly because of the cost. According to State Legislatures magazine, New Mexico's Supreme Court spends up to $700,000 on appeals in a typical death penalty case on; only 7 percent of death penalty cases result in a death sentence, while 68 percent are overturned on appeal, the highest rate in the United States.

Supporters argued that abolishing the death penalty would save states money in legal fees that would have been spent on cases challenging the death penalty, while opponents said the legal fees would still be paid because of trials brought by inmates contesting life in prison. A report released by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) found that states and localities can save millions of dollars by abolishing the death penalty. In the 1990s, the number of death sentences handed out each year in the United States was approximately 300, and more recently, that number has decreased to 115 per year. The number of executions is falling at a similar rate. According to the DPIC, 2009 was set to end with the lowest number of executions since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Richard Dieter, the DPIC's executive director, said, “The death penalty is turning into a very expensive form of life without parole… . At a time of budget shortfalls, the death penalty cannot be exempt from reevaluation alongside other wasteful government programs that no longer make sense.”