ok here goes on the death penalty?

Question

im doing a debate at my school on the death penalty. were pros and im 100% sure the opposing team is going to mention that the death penalty costs more money to execute than to put them in jail for life. what could i say as a defense? any answers would be appreciated :)

Answer 1

Killing someone costs more than feeding and housing them for fifty years? I would need to see some documentation before I would believe that!

Incidentally, if they had only one appeal instead of innumerable ones, it may cost a lot less.

Answer 2

The death penalty does cost much more than life without parole, mostly because of the legal process, which is supposed to prevent executions of innocent people. Several answers you received are mistaken about this.

An earlier answer has provided a very good list of links to cost information in many different states.

The clearest explanation of why the death penalty is so expensive is at www.deathpenaltyfocus.org
Click on facts and then on costs.

You should also take a look at a resource specifically for students and debaters (with arguments on both sides) at
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=1917

Answer 3

In Texas, the cost of incarcerating Simonne in our prison system is about $27,000 per year. There is no data on how long a person sentenced to life without parole will live, but if you guess 40 years (probably an extreme) the cost is $1.08 million. It costs Texas approximately $1 million per inmate to defend the death sentence in court. The average stay on death row is 10 years. You can do the math.

However, you can make these non-financial arguments.

1) There is always the possibility laws will change and the person sentence to life without parole will be released.
2) The death penalty is a deterrent to crime. There is no evidence this is true. States without a death penalty have low crime rates. States with a death penalty do not see a decrease in violent crime. However, there is still no way to guage how many elect not to do the crime because of the death penalty.
3) Society is safer by executing those guilty of a capital crime.

Answer 4

The death penalty is absolutely a just and good thing in our legal system.

First I would start the debate by asking them which they think is worse, the death penalty or life in prison. (they will probably say life in prison). Keep this point in mind for later.

Second and probably MOST importantly is that in some cases it gives the families of victims closure for what is in many cases a horrible crime. Why would we give a killer more rights to his own life when he clearly did not have respect for life himself? I always hear about ooh the poor people being put to death, the exuction isn't humane enough.....ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?! Take the piece of garbage who was convicted in the "megan's law" case that oh yeah by the way is now getting out of the death penalty. So what if we cause him a ton of pain while being put to death? He lured Megan to his home by saying he wanted to show her a puppy. He then raped her, beat her and strangled her with a belt. A day later, he led police to her body. These might sound like disgusting details and you know what they are! And every single word should be read over and over...why? Because the damn 7 year old girl had to go through it, the least people can do is read it. Oh, the guy who committed this crime might have some pain while being put to death? GOOD! I can guarantee you, he won't get the same amount of pain as that little girl. Again why give the victims and the victim’s families fewer rights than the person who committed the crime(s). Last part of this is that often times families has expressed the inability to move on with their lives without a death penalty for the most severe crimes.


Third, people who have life in prison have on multiple occasions escaped from prison to kill again. DON"T let people tell you this hasn't happened. It has, and it will again. Putting someone in jail for life is ABSOLUTELY 100% NOT a guaranteed safeguard of a person not killing again.

The point they will make is that innocent people have been put to death. Yes, I'm not so naive to think that this hasn't happened before and with the death penalty in place won't happen again. But then refer back to my original point. Why would you (who just admitted to life in jail being a worse punishment) agree to a worse sentence for someone who could potentially be innocent? Also again there have been cases of prisoners escaping and murdering again. So either we risk the lives of people in prison who could be innocent or we risk the lives of the people in our communities who could get killed. Both are very small #s. Each side of the debate will try to tell you the #s are bigger than they are but rest assured we are talking small #s on both sides.


Money should be the absolute last argument used by either side here. Would you do something that was morally incorrect if it means getting more money? I'm ALL for people on death row getting as many appeals as they want /need. Search for more research, evidence, witnesses, ask for continuances, that’s fine. Yes it will cost more money to tax payers. Yes that sucks, but again if it helps with minimizing errors I'm all for it.

Lastly they will discuss Deterrence. Both sides argue the Deterrence point. Many people point to a lack of deterrence with the death penalty but the data differs on both sides. People who disagree with the death penalty point to lower %s per capita. Ex. states w/out the death penalty have lower murder rates. Yes, North Dakota per capita has lower murder rates than Florida. But there are so many other factors to take into account. Homeless rates, unemployment, poverty, drug usage, overall size of the major cities etc. etc. Neither side can agree on this point, but how can you measure someone not potentially doing something? If you have 10 men and say to 5 men I'll punish you if you do that and the others you say nothing. Then 2 men that were warned commit a crime, you can't say ooh look it did nothing! How do you know all 5 wouldn't have done the same act.

Everyone talks of the death penalty and compassion. Try having some compassion for the decent law abiding citizens who were victims of horrific crimes and did nothing wrong.

Answer 5

My answer would be - Are you saying that the life of a man or the rights given to us by the constitution should be dictated by a set dollar value?

If dollars are what is at stake here; at how many dollars should the government place on a citizens life before they choose to strip them? These rights that I and our country hold dear where not based on dollars but the blood of people seeking freedom. Again I ask what is the dollar value you place on this. (remember you can be pro-justice and be pro-death penalty)

I am against the death penalty for the primary reason that I don't feel our government is competent enough to manage it without killing innocent people. The system of sentencing and proving innocence and guilt is based on who can afford a good attorney. It is easy to convict someone accidentally and Texas this year alone have released over 10 people from death row who where convicted and later proven innocent. I would rather not have the government involved in killing its citezens.

Answer 6

You think you have the right to decide another's fate? Are you truly that perfect? Have you never made a mistake? Because if not you are the first perfect human being EVER!
Sorry but in most cases I cannot condone the death penalty. For those at the bottom of the heap it can be an incentive rather than a deterrent! (Suicide by Cop). I do not consider myself fit to judge in such extreme cases. However certain crimes are so heinous that even as a pacifist I would be happy to see the perpetrator executed. So put me down as a don't know - lol.

Answer 7

when you put someone in jail for life, the taxpayers' money goes to the prison to feed the stupid lying discustiong criminals that include those on death row.
Also is money really all the effing government is worried about? seriously lets think about this: what would you rather? kill someone because they murdered someone else and no have to worry about them being on the streets killing other people, or stick them in a prison cell so that they can live off of the good, law abiding citizens money that could instead be used to pay for college tuition, school developments, cancer foundations and something that is SOOO much more important.

does that help? cus it sure as heck felt good to vent :)

Answer 8

You people that say keeping them in prison is far more expensive then executing them are completely wrong. It has been proven in 48 states that execution costs more then keeping a person locked up in a supermax for 60 years. (including full elderly care)
http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:HoMX9iWboLEJ:www.in.gov/pdc/general/indianadpfactsheet.pdf+florida+bar,+executions+cost+more+then+life+without+parole+site:.gov&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a
indiana
http://opd.ohio.gov/press/Death%20Penalty%20in%20Ohio.pdf
ohio
http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2007/billhtml/HB0697.htm
montana
http://www.oregon.gov/DOC/PUBAFF/cap_punishment/history.shtml
oregon
http://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/content/deathpenalty/deathpenalty.pdf
washington
http://www.sentencing.nj.gov/downloads/pdf/articles/2007/Feb2007/news41.pdf
new jersey
http://www.lincoln.ne.gov/CITY/council/agenda/2001/102201/01r282.pdf
nebraska
http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/juvenile/minutes/jjdp/2007_0131.pdf
virginia
It goes on and on and on.

You people dont get it. its not about the cost of the drugs or the rope. Its about the entire legal preceedings. Executions are far more expensive then anything else that can be done.


To the asker, although i do not support the death penalty, a great defense to it is "Are lives of victims worth money? We are not discussing the economics of the death penalty, we are discussing justice. Economics should be the last concern."

Answer 9

being jailed for life, a prisoner will spend more than a death
convict who will surely put to death in a year's time. A life
termer without the possibility of parole will up to his death be the responsibilty of the government regarding his
daily sustenance, including health care which could be more
costly than an inmate meted a death penalty.

Answer 10

It costs more because we have an inefficient system of letting them stall for 17 years. The death penalty needs to be revisited... when there is conclusive evidence (ie, multiple witnesses, DNA, cameras, etc) that prove a person did a crime... stick him in the express lane and remove him from society.

Answer 11

The reason the death penalty is so expensive is not the act in itself but the legal eagles (lawyers) who see it as a cash cow.
The judicial system keeps letting it go back and forth between the liberals who think it is cruel, to the religious zealots, to the politicians who kick it back to the courts....then we go for any number of appeals.
It is not uncommon for a convicted criminal to finally be executed some 5 to ten years after the crime.
It has been allowed to be turned into a circus and the loser is the victims of crime.