im in support, we should kill our death row inmates faster
It costs more to kill the accused, than to just keep him in prison for the rest of his/her life. how?
I actually read a book of essays depicting both sides of this argument recently. It's true that sentencing inmates to death costs more overall. Each individual case costs millions of dollars because the inmate will normally go through years of appeals and care for a death row inmate + the cost of execution just adds up to more than keeping them in prison for the rest of their lives. Also, take into account that the life expectancy for an inmate is decreased because of internal violence, high suicide rates, and poor environment. If you want the detailed statistics, you can probably find them online. I know the US gov releases statistic pdfs on their site for crime-related issues all the time.
A reason some people are in favor of capital punishment in spite of its high cost is that studies have shown capital punishment discourages violent crime. Studies disagree on this, but the majority have consistently shown that one capital punishment case can indirectly save up to 18 lives. And those moral politicians are always in favor of that. Lol
Other people say they want revenge on the criminals. Personally, I find this petty. Try to make more rational decisions. Many families of victims who have seen the murderer electrocuted or otherwise killed were left unsatisfied. But either way, capital punishment should not be about appeasing the victim's family. We need to make decisions based on what is truly best for our country.
Some people have used evidence to argue that capital punishment, in its violent nature, encourages a culture of retribution and violence among civilians who otherwise would not have turned to violence. They reject the idea that killing murderers who would serve life saves other lives. I don't think killing prisoners is immoral or injust, I just don't find it beneficial. I'd rather our government not waste the money.
Some people will argue that life in prison is worse than capital punishment. I would agree, but if an inmate really hates it that much, then the inmate can just hang up. Lol The ole Ricky Kasso way. Funny thing is, the only witness in his case was unfit for trial so his accused accomplice was set free, and he would have been free too if he hadn't hung himself in his cell two days after being arrested. But I digress. Inmates can decide what to do from there. I don't care. Their lives.
And giving a guy who rapes a three year old a second chance is justice?
Ghandi meant that in the sense of revenge, not justice, there is a difference in people killing each other and someone who has been found guilty of a crime. We wouldn't be killing people, we would be putting down monsters, these people forfeit their humanity, its not a war or a dispute.
I'm not even really sure that the legal enforcement system is even about "justice." It's more about following the rules despite injustice and keeping the undesirables out of normal society. I don't think it's reasonable to say that criminals have forfeited their humanity. They're just as human as anyone else here. You just don't want them free to do harm.
And the whole idea of killing criminals for revenge is flawed. Can the average civilian, or even the government, who had no relation to the crime or the victim, claim the right of revenge? Can I want revenge for something that was not done to me? Does human sympathy give me that right?
Also, the cliched "I'm not killing a person, I'm killing a monster" has been used so many times to justify crime. People are people are people. (I'm not saying it's immoral to kill people, but I'm saying this justification is insufficient.)
