Ignoring all the "right to kill" / "right to live" arguments (all opinions either way) the fact is the death penalty is more expensive than locking up someone in prison for life.
Quote:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish/cost.html
Capital punishment is a far more expensive system than one whose maximum penalty is life in prison.
* A New York study estimated the cost of an execution at three times that of life imprisonment.
* In Florida, each execution costs the state $3.2 million, compared to $600,000 for life imprisonment.
* Studies in California, Kansas, Maryland, and North Carolina all have concluded that capital punishment is far more expensive than keeping someone in prison for life.
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Those are facts. However, the current jail facilities are far too "cushy" for murderers / rapists. There should be two kinds of prisons: One for minor crimes, and one for "lifers". The one for the life-sentence people would be much more strict, with hard labor thrown in and bad-tasting food, just to name a few things.
All in all, the current jail system is too soft for murderers. That is why I currently
agree with the death penalty system. If, however, my idea of a tougher prison environment became a reality, my stance on the issue would change, simply because of the cost issues.
Yes, I am a religious person, however, it is indeed "Thou shalt not commit murder." Also, there is a passage that goes something like this: "If you kill your fellow man, thou shalt surely be killed by your fellow man."