The Death Penalty Costs More Than Meets the Eye
An editorial in the New York Times discusses the financial, social, and time costs of the death penalty. The death penalty costs more money than any other method of punishment, it can be detrimental to other government programs, and the associated trials take a lot of time to complete.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, California has executed 13 people since 1976 for a total cost of about $250 million per execution. This money would be much better spent on improving the legal system by hiring more police officers, hiring more public defenders, or making more room in state prisons. If the money was spent in ways that would improve the legal system, the changes could lead to decreased crime rates, and it would be more effective at decreasing crime than the death penalty. The cost of these executions was so great that California had to make severe budget cuts from health care, education, and recreational parks. Lastly, death penalty trials are extremely time consuming. Death penalty cases are commonly appealed, and according to the author of the editorial, the appeal process can take fifteen to twenty years. Some would argue that the appeal process should be removed. However, this is not an option because it would increase the number of people that are wrongly convicted and sentenced to death. Also, the jury selection in death penalty cases takes an extremely long amount of time compared to less serious cases. While all of this is happening the inmate waits on death row for what feels like an eternity.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, California has executed 13 people since 1976 for a total cost of about $250 million per execution. This money would be much better spent on improving the legal system by hiring more police officers, hiring more public defenders, or making more room in state prisons. If the money was spent in ways that would improve the legal system, the changes could lead to decreased crime rates, and it would be more effective at decreasing crime than the death penalty. The cost of these executions was so great that California had to make severe budget cuts from health care, education, and recreational parks. Lastly, death penalty trials are extremely time consuming. Death penalty cases are commonly appealed, and according to the author of the editorial, the appeal process can take fifteen to twenty years. Some would argue that the appeal process should be removed. However, this is not an option because it would increase the number of people that are wrongly convicted and sentenced to death. Also, the jury selection in death penalty cases takes an extremely long amount of time compared to less serious cases. While all of this is happening the inmate waits on death row for what feels like an eternity.