Death Penalty Dollars - Better Spent Elsewhere?

[Palehorse]

In this country people are sentenced to the ultimate punishment each and every day, and like most things in this society the price tag attached to it is increasing with the times.

Current estimates place the cost of imposing the death penalty upon an individual found guilty of an offense punishable by death at $1,000,000.00 per case; however when you factor in the cost of prosecuting these cases, that price tag could approach significantly more these days.

Example, just take a look at the costs associated with the following cases within Marion County, Indiana this year:

» Ronald L. Davis, 32: Accused of killing two women and two young children in January 2008 inside a house on Hovey Street on the Near Northside. Trial set for Aug. 23. Cost: $244,620. (note

» Desmond Turner, 31: Convicted in October of killing four adults and three children in June 2006 inside a house on Hamilton Avenue on the Near Eastside. Death penalty request was dropped before trial. Serving life sentence without parole, plus 88 years. Cost: $848,871.

» Kenneth Lee Allen, 34: Accused of killing his mother and two grandparents and burying their bodies in concrete in the basement of a house on the Eastside in early 2005. Trial set for May 24. Cost: $813,579.

» John Adams, 35: Accused of killing his wife and infant son and stuffing their bodies into a freezer at his Westside home in 1999. His trial is on hold indefinitely because he has been found incompetent to stand trial. Cost: $312,242.

On top of these costs when you factor in the appeals on death penalty impositions, the price tag gets a lot saltier, exceeding 1 million dollars in some cases.

A 2002 state panel study concluded that life sentence impositions would result in a 30-38% decrease in costs to the state when compared to death penalty impositions, even when including the costs associated with housing the inmates for life!

So all you conservatives out there, if you are really dedicated to saving money I suppose we can expect you to support a repeal to the death penalty???

EDIT: As the article I read states, "each time you hear of a death penalty case in this state, that giant sucking sound you hear is the million dollars it is going to cost the state to prosecute each case." Now, that million dollars could be better spent in helping the folks that are homeless, jobless, or unable to pay their mortgage because of the other giant sucking sound we hear in this state; job loss and unemployment!

[Henry Hawk]

Actually PH, I agree....even though I am NOT opposed to the Death Penalty to anyone who is convicted beyond a shadow of doubt for any brutal murder....but this whole process that our "liberal" judicial system has installed...with the outrageous "appeal" process .... this system NEEDS fixed...I'm in favor of anything that cuts out the ridicules wasteful spending....I think there are a number of things that could be done to cut costs for our prison systems....

[Mr442]

I go along with what Henry said, but I don't understand why a death penalty case should run into more money.  Either the person did it, or they didn't, that simple.  But I do realize there is a cost to the entire process, and some cases are more difficult to make than others.

» Ronald L. Davis, 32: Accused of killing two women and two young children in January 2008 inside a house on Hovey Street on the Near Northside. Trial set for Aug. 23. Cost: $244,620.

Yes, that was a lot of money to prosecute the case, but we need to curb our losses and give him the needle ASAP.

» Desmond Turner, 31: Convicted in October of killing four adults and three children in June 2006 inside a house on Hamilton Avenue on the Near Eastside. Death penalty request was dropped before trial. Serving life sentence without parole, plus 88 years. Cost: $848,871.

This one did not get the death penalty and cost way more than the one above

» Kenneth Lee Allen, 34: Accused of killing his mother and two grandparents and burying their bodies in concrete in the basement of a house on the Eastside in early 2005. Trial set for May 24. Cost: $813,579.

Another one that needs done away with ASAP.

» John Adams, 35: Accused of killing his wife and infant son and stuffing their bodies into a freezer at his Westside home in 1999. His trial is on hold indefinitely because he has been found incompetent to stand trial. Cost: $312,242.

BS here.  This incompetent crap is just wrong.  If he is that screwed up, and obviously a dangerous person, we need to move him to the front of the injection line.

[Exterminator]

....but this whole process that our "liberal" judicial system has installed...with the outrageous "appeal" process .... this system NEEDS fixed...

Yesterday it was our Constitution, today our judicial system; why don't you just move if you hate everything about the U.S. so badly?

[Anne]

Maybe instead of the death penalty we should go back to making them all break great big rocks into little bitty rocks for the rest of their lives without tv, special diets, medical care, spousal visits, etc. I don't know who that would be financially, but it might make some of the victims and their families rest easier. I like the sheriff in Maricopa Co., Arizona, and his approach to prisoners. I don't know how popular he is out there, though.

[Henry Hawk]

Yesterday it was our Constitution, today our judicial system; why don't you just move if you hate everything about the U.S. so badly?

You would just LOVE that woudn't you...Why would I do that?....I don't HATE everything about the US....I LOVE it, THAT is why I gladly speak out when I see the stupid shit going on....like the BS that allows our Judicial system to WASTE Millions of dollars on peices of shit criminals.....there are thousands of laws that are being crapped away because of idiotic lawmakers....this Country can STILL turn around and become a Great Nation again....I have hope.

[Exterminator]

What you call "stupid shit" is our system of government and this country is a great nation despite what people like you might think of it.

[Bo D]

Maybe instead of the death penalty we should go back to making them all break great big rocks into little bitty rocks for the rest of their lives without tv, special diets, medical care, spousal visits, etc.

I could go for that! Except for the denial of medical care part, that is. I would like to keep them alive as long as possible to suffer the consequences of what they have done. Death is the easy way out.

[followsthewolf]

Maybe instead of the death penalty we should go back to making them all break great big rocks into little bitty rocks for the rest of their lives without tv, special diets, medical care, spousal visits, etc. I don't know who that would be financially, but it might make some of the victims and their families rest easier. I like the sheriff in Maricopa Co., Arizona, and his approach to prisoners. I don't know how popular he is out there, though.

He's getting carried away with his power.

One of his deputies stole a file from the defense attorney's table and was filmed in the courtroom doing the deed.

He defended his deputy's right to commit the act.

The trouble with allowing someone to become king/queen is that.........well, he/she keeps on pushing the envelope (being king/queen ya see) until there's a revolution.

l

[Anne]

I could go for that! Except for the denial of medical care part, that is. I would like to keep them alive as long as possible to suffer the consequences of what they have done. Death is the easy way out.

Well, there is medical care and then there is medical care. Talk to someone who works at a big hospital that deals with prisoners and listen to the stuff they get away with. Self inflicted injuries to get a trip to the hospital,extraordinary treatment that people without insurance would never get, or even some people with insurance.

[Palehorse]

Bartow, Florida (CNN) -- After more than three decades in prison, a Florida man was set free Thursday after a DNA test showed he did not kidnap and rape a 9-year-old boy in 1974.

"I'm not angry," James Bain, 54, told reporters after a brief hearing in Bartow, Florida.

Bain was 19 when he was convicted on charges of kidnapping, burglary and strong-arm rape. He received a life sentence. He's going home for the first time in 35 years.

"I got God in my head," said Bain, surrounded by supporters and wearing a T-shirt with "Not Guilty" across the front. "I knew one day he will reveal me."

Of the 245 people in the United States whom DNA testing has exonerated, none has spent more time behind bars than Bain, according to the Innocence Project, a national organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through such testing.

In 2001, Florida passed a statute allowing cases to be reopened for DNA testing. Bain submitted handwritten motions four times seeking such testing but was denied each time. His fifth attempt was successful after an appeals court ruled he was entitled to a hearing.

Bain initially was expected to be freed with some conditions as the state wanted a further review of DNA test results. But the review was completed ahead of Thursday's hearing.

Polk County State Attorney Jerry Hill told the judge that DNA testing had excluded Bain from the crime.

"He's just not connected with this particular incident," Hill said.

"Mr. Bain, I'm now signing the order, sir," the judge said, referring to an order vacating the judgment and sentence.

"You are a free man. Congratulations," he said, and the courtroom erupted into applause.

In 1974, the 9-year-old Lake Wales, Florida, victim had told police that his attacker had bushy sideburns and a mustache. After being shown five photos of potential suspects, the victim picked out one of Bain, the police report said.

The victim, now 44, lives in Florida and was made aware of Bain's situation, according to multiple sources.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Bain said he was going home with family. "I'm going to see my mom," he said.

His mother, Sarah Reed, has been in and out of hospitals in recent years. She said she is putting her house and her car in her son's name. "I want him to have something by himself. He's suffered enough," she said.

Asked about prison, Bain said, "So many things can happen to you at any time." But now, "I guess I kind of feel like when they first landed on the moon. We have touchdown," he said, laughing.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/17/florida.dna.exoneration/index.html 

Here's a guy who spent 35 years in prison for a crime he did not commit in the first place. Yet we keep on killing prisoners when we cannot get it right. . .

[damfast]

i have always wondered:

if you kill someone for killing someone, then what about the person who kills the killer?

member when the one guy killed kennedy, then the other guy killed the killer? he had some serious splainin to do.  how come the guy who kills the killer now doesnt splain anything?

[Palehorse]

i have always wondered:

if you kill someone for killing someone, then what about the person who kills the killer?

member when the one guy killed kennedy, then the other guy killed the killer? he had some serious splainin to do.  how come the guy who kills the killer now doesnt splain anything?

Because he enjoys immunity in carrying out a "legal" order of the state, on behalf of the state, as its agent.