Death Penalty Pros And Cons Essay

It is not possible to calculate full expenses so all of these totals are just estimates. For each individual death penalty case it costs on average $1,028,700 dollars for the trial plus $43,352 for every year they are imprisoned and $97,814 for the actual execution. Comparing this to a regular sentence it is about $70,000 for a trial plus the same $43,352 for every year of imprisonment. Overall, having imprisonment would be more financially sound for the country in comparison to the death penalty.

Although having the death row may bring the victims closer, The cost of death vs. life in prison is irradical. Prisoners who do not go through the death penalty process only costs $740,000. If the prisoner went through the death penalty process, it would cost more than $1.26 million. If you were too make the process of the death penalty longer, than they would cost more than $90,000 more each year that they are on trial. Since most death procedures now a days are through lethal

It can cost as much as 3 times more to keep a prisoner on death row before execution than it costs to take care of a prisoner with a life sentence. In fact, defense costs alone for death penalty trials cost on average $395,762 per case, compared to $98,963 per case when the death penalty was not sought (Kansas Judicial Council). A study conducted by Seattle University on the costs of the death penalty i.e. the cost of appeals, hiring attorneys, and keeping a prisoner on death row before execution in Washington State found that, a death penalty case costs on average one million dollars more than a similar case that does not warrant a death penalty ($3.07 million versus $2.01 million). In addition, due to the longevity of death penalty cases, mostly as a result of the long appeal processes, statistics have shown the same high cost trends in all of the states that apply the death penalty. Thus, during these times of economic crisis, it is only wise for states and the government to spend and invest taxpayers’ money into more important areas, such as health care and

“Enjoy life today, yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come,” said an unknown author. The death penalty faces many pros and cons as to why it should be legal and illegal. Capital punishment is another name for the death penalty. So many people are clueless as to what the death penalty even is or what it does. The death penalty is the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime. Crimes to be punished by death differs from every state and country. Usually the death penalty comes to action when the capital crime is murder or rape; capital offense usually means bail will not be an option. Even though the death penalty gives closure to the victim’s families who have suffered so much, the death penalty

The Fact sheet found on the Death Penalty Information Center showed that solely in Kansas, there was an average of $400,000 per case for defense costs by inmates placed on death row compared to the average of $100,000 paid per case to defense attorneys when there was no death penalty (DPIC). Alarcon and Mitchell conducted a study in 2011 that showed that just in California getting through the process of having an inmate on death row was over $4,000,000,000 (DPIC). This was due to the various amounts of fees that had to be paid for court trials, appeals, housing death row inmates in preparation for their incarcerations etc. (DPIC) lastly just in the state of Texas, the cost of carrying out a death penalty case, which is $2.3 million is three times as much as housing an inmate in solitary confinement at a maximum-security prison for 4 decades (DPIC). This huge difference in numbers add to how unrighteous it would be to keep the death penalty legal in the U.S.

There were many studies that were done in May 2012 that show in some states there was a significant cost up to $232 million per year for someone to remain on death row. Someone not on death row, only a life sentence, costs an average of $11.5 million per year. The largest cost is associated before the trial begins and during the trial. Even if all appeals were banned and extinguished, the death penalty would still cost a whole lot more than any of the other alternative sentences. If a prosecutor seeks the death sentence, they have to go through two phases of conviction – conviction phase first, then a sentencing phase. And then each trial usually has some special motions and then has to allow for extra time for the jury selection process. More costs are involved with the investigative side when the prosecution is seeking the death penalty. When there is any other verdict other than death, then there are usually a lot more costs involved for a retrial, and in turn, the sentence usually ends up as life in prison.

It is expensive and varies in different states. It cost Florida $51 million a year above what it would cost to punish all first degree murderers with life in prison without parole, and a death penalty case in Texas would cost an average of $2.3 million – three times as much of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest level for 40 years! (Facts). Instead of spending money for individual criminals, the government can save that money and spend it on the prison facility to create more space.  The money can also be used towards the murdered victim’s families. Most family members who have “lost [loved] ones to murder” sense that the death penalty does not help them (Death Penalty).  The reason why death penalty cases cost more than typical cases is because all of the judges, lawyers, and other personnel would spend more hours into preparing, trying, and reviewing the issues, given that a life is at stake. Judge Gregory Frost estimated that he and his staff spends “40 to 60 hours per month on some aspect” of the death penalty cases, and that the hearings could last from “a few hours to multiple days” (Death-penalty). Instead of spending an excessive amount of money on the death penalty, the money could be devoted to therapies, counseling sessions, or places that could be helpful for the murdered victim’s families.  The government can also spend that money for the community.  They can help by repairing highways, street lights, and annihilated

With all of the special lawyers, court dates, prison cells and maintenance, a death penalty case can cost millions of dollars. Like a lot of things, capital punishment is paid for with tax dollars. Cases with the death penalty can cost upwards of 1.7 million dollars while cases without it are usually about 740,000 dollars. Maintaining death row prisoners can also bring costs up immensely. One of the most severe instances of these high costs is California. Every year it costs California 180 million dollars more to maintain death row prisoners than it does to maintain LWOP prisoners. They have put thirteen people to death from 1973 until now, and each case has cost 137 million dollars. A 2011 study showed that California has spent four billion dollars on capital punishment since 1976, and that has only grown higher. This is only one of the horrendous examples of our tax dollars at work. Do we really want our hard earned money going towards the killing of what might be innocent

A 2003, Kansas audit found that the estimated cost of a death penalty case was 70% more than the cost of a comparable non-death penalty case. Death penalty case costs were counted through to execution (median cost $1.26 million). Non-death penalty case costs were counted through to the end of incarceration (median cost $740,000) (Death Penalty Cost. (n.d.).

And using a 2006 study by the state bar association the costs add up… Trial Attorneys - $467,000; Court Costs - $70,000; Appeals - $100,800; Personal Restraint - [depends on the case]; Petition - $152,900; Habeas Corpus - [depends on the case]; Petition - $238,000; Misc. Petitions - [depends on the case]. [The total cost is] $1,028,700+ MORE than a non-death penalty case… Add over another half million in prison costs not counting the extra expense of death row. Per Prisoner Per year = $43,352*; so 14 years =

The death penalty isn't for anyone to really see, no one wants to see a family member or a loved one die for a crime they did do or a crime they didn't get proven not guilty of. Life in prison it can average to one million. A second degree murder case for $15,000-20,000 instead of $250,000 for a death penalty trial. Innocent people get excused all the time for crimes they didn't commit. 350 people mistakenly convicted of potentially capital crimes, 139 were sentenced to death, and 23 were actually executed.

All of the studies on the cost of capital punishment conclude it is much more expensive than a system with life sentences as the maximum penalty. Cases without the death penalty cost roughly $740,000 while cases where the death penalty is sought cost about $1.26 million. Maintaining each death row prisoner costs taxpayers $90,000 more per year than a prisoner in general population. (Top 10 Pros… 2015). A study of the cost of the death penalty in Colorado showed that death penalty proceedings required six times the days in court and took much longer to solve than life-without-parole (LWOP) cases. When people try to say it cost less to tax payers to put a man to death then to care for them in prisons for life they are not aware of the facts. Why do these cases take so long from sentencing to execution? After a person is convicted of a capital crime, they tend not to accept a sentence of "death" without a fight. They appeal to a higher court, and a higher one and a higher one, trying to overturn their conviction for any reason. Resolving those numerous appeals takes years. It's built into the system, and it helps to ensure that the State is certain of a person's guilt before the actual execution. According to a study published in 2004 in the Journal of Parable legal studies, five percent of the 5,826 death sentences imposed from 1973 to 1995 were carried out in those years. The study found there was a 68%

Death Penalty supporters say it is cheaper to kill the convict rather than keep them alive but contrary to that belief it is not. Even though each day it cost the tax payers $55.09 which is roughly $20,108 a year (Hurley), this is nothing compared to the legal fees that the inmate racks up leaving you and I the tax payers to pick up the tab. For an inmate that is death row it cost $68,000 in the due to observation of guards all hours of the day compared to the $38,000 to watch them if they are only on a life sentence (Hurley).

2. In Texas, a death penalty case costs taxpayers an average of $2.3 million, about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years.

The cost of the death penalty compared to the life sentence is excessive. Sending someone to jail and letting them die of natural causes is way cheaper than executing them. According to the Los Angeles Times (Williams, 2011) the death penalty cost Californians $184 million a year. Over 20 years, the state would save more than $2.34 billion if they actually sentenced everyone on death row to life in prison. It costs 20 times more for an execution than a life-without-parole case with the cost of attorneys being $300,000 more to represent a person on death row than someone with a life sentence charge. Along with jury selection of capital cases being 3-4 weeks longer and costing $200,000 more and with the heightened security at execution adding $100,663 with many other expenses. The least expensive death penalty trial costs $1.1 million more than the most expensive life-without-parole case. Making lifetime imprisonment the more sensible option cost wise.