Guilty? Let me handle the punishment, please.

it's true. The way things work, it costs a lot more to execute someone than it does to stick them in prison. Legal fees. I'd contend that he should have the option of requesting assisted suicide, but with our puritanical nobody-has-the-right-to-choose-what-to-do-with-his-or-her-own-life society, he'll leech on the taxpayer for a couple hundred thousand.

 

Capital defendants have a right to bypass their appeals, at least in my state. Other than the immediate auto-appeal to the state supreme court to review for trial error, the rest of the appeal process (PCR and Federal habeas relief) can be waived.

 

Funny because an earlier story on that link made it sound like he was sorry or at least that he didn't really understand why he did it. That's all out of this version.

 

Voodoo accounting, boys. if you look at in terms of an actual cash outlay, there is no way, absolutely no way, it costs less to house a prisoner for x years than to execute them. Yes, I know, the studies out there that say differently. Ya think maybe they're written from a particular point of view on the subject perhaps?

Essentially, the cost/benefit of execution comes down to legal fees vs. cost to house the criminal. Well, let's look at that.

Let's assume a court appointed defense attorney. Well, they're on a salary from the state. They get paid whether they are working this case or another one. There's no savings there.

Prosecution -same story--a salaried attorney who is getting paid regardless if its this case or not.

Judge and courtroom personnel? Same. Salaried personnel--if they aren't working this case, they'll be getting the same pay to work another.

if the defendant can afford their own attorney, then the incremental cost is the amount the attorneys would earn over what they would earn without the case. You think high profile attorneys doing death penalty cases are short of work and would be sitting idly by if a death penalty case doesn't fall in their lap? I don't think so.

Then compare that to the cost of housing this guy for example. He's 28. You're looking at 40 years of food, clothing, laundry expenses. I won't even address the guard cost or supplemental security costs it takes for death row inmates. And pennies a day? I don't think so. You can feed someone 3 meals a day for pennies? No. No you can't.

You can make numbers do a lot of things, and in this case it's death penalty oppositionists making out a numerical story that in reality doesn't work.

Convenient accounting. Voodoo accounting, boys. Voodoo accounting.

 

The sad thing is that there are people in this country that would see your "voodoo" posting as a political ad, and actually believe it and not realize how ridiculously full of shit it is. You obviously have very, very, very little knowledge clue of how capital punishment actually works in this country. I can understand the people who have moral issues with letting a person convicted of a horrible crime keep going on -- I don't agree, but I understand -- but your arguments are beyong weak, and pathetically wrong.

 

So if I rammed my car through the police station it wouldn't cost anything because the building would have to be replaced eventually. There are people on staff whose job it is to fix broken walls and windows and -- really, when you get down to it -- bricks and wood and windows are all made of basic material mud, trees and sand. All free for the taking.

Hell they should pay me for my time.

 

Um, institutional food and the most basic of accommodations for 50 years is easily cheaper than being billed by lawyers for 17 years. No contest.

 

That's all you got? C'mon Starman, I know you have a few good salvos in ya.

 

Then maybe you need to be God-like and take this man into your home and just love him to normalcy. God loves the sinner, but doesn't condone the sin as I have always heard. We reap what we sow. I've heard that too. Go get Christ, dude, but you're going to the table of death so you can get closer to him in a short period of time.

 

I think that they should give him life.

He won't last a year in prison, and he'll be in much more pain on a daily basis.

It'll just cost the taxpayers three hots and a cot.

 

How very cute we all are with our Starman justice and whatnot. I want no part of my government killing anyone, for any reason.

Now, if someone did this to my son? I'd likely kill them myself and suffer the consequences. Difference? Slight.

 

as the parent of a three-month old girl i can't even read stuff like this anymore. i hate being the guy who avoids the bad news out there and pretends it doesn't exist but i have to do it for my sanity. i'm sure this is nothing new for all the parents out there, but it physically hurts me to think of anyone doing something bad to my daughter.