Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

[deleted] t1_javb0la wrote

Reply to comment by WW3_Historian in Genevieve Lhermitte: Belgian mother who killed her five children euthanised by Quirkie

[removed]

47

alexeands t1_javi8uw wrote

Fun fact - it frequently costs the state less money to keep people in prison for life than it costs to kill them.

47

I_Smokes_Rocks t1_javp2pa wrote

Source on this?

−5

Head_of_Lettuce t1_javr6ih wrote

It sounds counterintuitive but it’s true in many cases. The reason is that death penalty cases are much more expensive for all parties than other types of cases (i.e. life in prison), because the trials themselves are often more numerous (appeals, etc) and longer than they otherwise would be. Those costs often outweigh the costs of just convicting someone to life in prison, and paying to keep them confined for the rest of their life. Also, many people end up either having their convictions overturned or commuted to life in prison, making the whole thing a wasted expense.

Here is a paper from the government of Indiana which breaks down some of the costs involved. It doesn’t explicitly state that death penalty cases are more expensive I don’t think, but it should give you an idea.

42

malphonso t1_jaw1fl2 wrote

In addition to the court costs, there's the addition housing costs associated with death row. A normal housing unit may have 50 or 60 inmates in a dorm to two guards. A death row unit will have 10-1 man cells to 1 guard. Even if there's only one death row inmate. Getting close to execution it will be one guard watching that one inmate separate from other housing units.

15

nsci2ece t1_jawoqko wrote

It's because of something called appeals. The US is not China where once a death sentence is handed out, it actually happens within the same month. Do you want the US to be as liberal with the death penalty application as China? Because that's the only way the death penalty becomes cheaper.

8

beyondbliss t1_jb1uwt9 wrote

It’s a well known fact, or should be a well known fact. Due to the cost and errors made, a lot of people are starting to not agree with the death penalty.

2