Is The Death Penalty Still Alive Today?

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

Is 21st century United States still in the dark ages when lawbreakers sentenced to death were executed? The United States still practices capital punishment, even though most western industrialized countries have abolished the death penalty. In 1972, the U.S Supreme Court abolished the death penalty in the United States. However, according to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), as of July 1, 2015, the death penalty is legal in 31 states, with Texas leading in the number of executions. Which raises the question: has the death penalty really served its purpose? The death penalty has not only proven to be a financial burden on taxpayers, it has also been confirmed to be ineffective

Death penalty, or also known as capital punishment, today is still used. Many oppose many support it. In the case Furman v. Georgia, the death penalty was abolished. But not fully, because it is still used today. In 1991 more than 2,600 people awaited execution but only fourteen were executed. Capital punishment should be legal, and should be used more often.

The cost can range all the way up to 1 million dollars just for a single death penalty case. Since capital punishment trails are longer and more intensive they tend to cost a lot more than the normal murder trails. Due to the high costs of every death penalty case there has been economic crisis in many states. In the past, around 3,000 prisoners were released early in Florida and prisoners in Texas only served 20% of their time. Rearrests are seen common in these states because millions of dollars are used for the death penalty instead of preventing crime. Most of the money is not used for crime prevention programs that could decrease the amount of crimes more effectively. Texas has one of the most people in the death row but its murder rate is also one of the highest. The politicians who support the death penalty believe that death penalty respond better to the crime. They also think that using the death penalty will make them have a stronger image. Not taking into account of the lack of funding, many do not realize that a single death penalty reduces the resources in the area. The million dollars could be used for long term crime reduction programs such as increasing the amount of police officers or even drug rehabilitation programs. Every death penalty trial is seen as a luxury item even if the person does not get the death penalty

The death penalty, or capital punishment, has been around as early as the Seventh Century B.C. and is still used in many countries today, including the United States. There are many arguments stating capital punishment should be abolished for many reasons, including that capital punishment violates the Bill of Rights, and life in prison is a more effective deterrent than capital punishment; there are also counter-arguments, saying that capital punishment should not be abolished for reasons such as capital punishment achieves justice for those who have been wronged and that it brings a sense of closure to families.

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

The financial aspect is one of the more discussed topics surrounding the death penalty. “Each execution can cost between $2.5 million and $5 million.” (Fagan 1). Compared to the millions of dollars it takes to execute a single to person to the more affordable cost of housing a prisoner of a range of $20,000-$40,000 a year; we as a society could punish these people for their crimes without killing and for less money.(Hirby 1). The cost for a non-death penalty trial is in the area of $250,000 whereas a trial concerning the death penalty will be in the area of about $1.7 million (Timberman). According to Sarah Timberman from death penalty.org “California has had to spend more than $4 billion on capital punishment alone since it was reinstated in the year 1978 (this is about $308 million for each of the 13 executions carried out)”. On top of the $308 million per trial, there is an additional cost of $184 million for all of the trials including multiple appeals, legal representation for the accused and extra security during the entire trial.

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

Along with the Moral and Ethical problems the death penalty has monetary problems too. The cost of housing inmates on death row and the extra cost of appeals results in a total extra cost of 65 million dollars a year. All of that money is being wasted on a criminal who isn’t even worth the time to kill him. If

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 is quite expensive when it comes to housing the inmate as well as paying for the execution itself. As an inmate is housed they must be fed three times a day while also using the facilities if needed. When all costs are accounted for it costs an average of 30,000 dollars to

Did you know, that according to a study at North Carolina State, a murder case cost 2.16 million dollars more with a death penalty then with a sentence of life imprisonment? It 's true! It is estimated that the death penalty cost the U.S. Judicial System an extra one billion dollars a year! It 's not only expensive, it 's wrong. The worst part is Juveniles are being executed. This is wrong because the human brain is not fully developed until the 20s.