Study: States can't afford death penalty

[RootBeer]

Story Highlights

Study: Death penalty costs can average $10M more per year per state than life terms

Eleven state legislatures have considered repealing the death penalty this year

Study relied on U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics data from 33 large urban counties

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/20/death.penalty/index.html

[birdwatch]

But we are apparently pretty bloodthirsty here. The State DA will even spend money fighting against DNA testing for death row prisoners and the governor won't intervene. Gee - hate to find out we were wrong - better to kill the guy before we check that out? Its not even an expensive test - I just don't understand. Imagine all the money we could save if the guy isn't even guilty.

[gnm109]

But we are apparently pretty bloodthirsty here. The State DA will even spend money fighting against DNA testing for death row prisoners and the governor won't intervene. Gee - hate to find out we were wrong - better to kill the guy before we check that out? Its not even an expensive test - I just don't understand. Imagine all the money we could save if the guy isn't even guilty.

I agree that DNA testing sholud be utilized in cases that are amenable to it. That's some percentage...I don't know how many. There are many cases where DNA is not an issue, as for example an aggravated armed robbery where someone is killed with many witnesses.

There are also many more that might have been decided by DNA yet it was either not collected or the evidence was lost or despoiled.

One thing is certain, crime doesn't pay for the states and prosecutors, it only costs.