How much is a death worth?

[LemonAndLime]

"The state of Texas is scheduled to spend $1,286.86 (£811) to kill Keith Thurmond on Wednesday night. The cost of the death drugs has risen 15-fold since 2010, when they cost the state $86 (£55). Volumes of research have suggested the death penalty is significantly more expensive to taxpayers than the punishment of life in prison, due largely to the lengthy legal processes involved.

Fundamentally, it stems from the use of what opponents say is a barbaric, antiquated mode of punishment within a sophisticated legal system ostensibly aimed at ensuring the rights of the accused, preventing punishment of the innocent, and executing human beings without causing them too much physical pain and suffering.

Aside from Texas, most of the 34 US states with death penalty laws on the books seldom carry out executions. But even those that do must spend billions of dollars to defend the death sentence against prisoners’ appeals and to house the condemned securely and what they see as humanely. California, for instance, has spent about $4bn (£2.54bn) since 1978 to fund its capital punishment system, but has executed only 13 prisoners, Federal Judge Arthur Alarcon and Loyola Law School Professor Paula Mitchell found in a law review article.

In that same period, at least 78 death row inmates died of natural causes, suicide or other causes while awaiting execution, they wrote. In Washington state, one prosecutor told a committee of the state bar association that capital cases are at least four times as costly to prosecute as a non-capital murder trial."

Taken from an article found here - bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17210285

Thoughts?

 

[BlindManWalking]

Thoughts?

1 appeal, 2 years to do so.

Hang em or shoot em.

Hanging, when done properly, would be just as quick and the rope can be reused.

Can’t reuse drugs.

Frankly, when thinking about it, I’d rather be hung or shot in the triangle (dead zone in the front of the face/side of the temple) than killed by lethal injection.

One would literally feel death seeping into their veins… talk about cruel.

Nothing like a quickly snapped neck or CNS rendered null and void to maintain lack of cruelty.

For that matter, I’d even rather be beheaded than injected.

 

[GJD]

Or, they could just not kill people.

 

[LemonAndLime]

Or, they could just not kill people.

Don’t be silly now, with that liberalist nonsense.

 

[anp1215]

Or, they could just not kill people.

Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening for a long, long time. The death penalty is far too popular here.

 

[garn9173]

Thoughts?

1 appeal, 2 years to do so.

Hang em or shoot em.

Hanging, when done properly, would be just as quick and the rope can be reused.

Can’t reuse drugs.

Frankly, when thinking about it, I’d rather be hung or shot in the triangle (dead zone in the front of the face/side of the temple) than killed by lethal injection.

One would literally feel death seeping into their veins… talk about cruel.

Nothing like a quickly snapped neck or CNS rendered null and void to maintain lack of cruelty.

For that matter, I’d even rather be beheaded than injected.

If it’s done right, i’ve read were the condemned is unconscious in a matter of seconds.

 

[Franna]

As Catholics we need to be prolife from cradle to grave.If your against abortion then you should be against the death penalty.Killing is killing and never justified!

 

[BlindManWalking]

Or, they could just not kill people.

This might have some merit were it not for the ridiculous sentences handed out for multiple years which overcrowd the jail/prison system and rehabilitate not a friggin one.

Ya gonna really let some serial rapist, murderer, etc just soak up amenities their entire life, wasting money by appeal after appeal, etc?

Not me.

They made their choice to be repeated offenders or to singularly offend so grievously it’s nauseating.

If they’re on death row, they should get 1 appeal and 2 years to do it.

To abolish the death penalty would mean such a burden on tax payers as to be ridiculous.

Kill em, we all gotta die sometime.

If saving money is the issue, abolishing the death penalty is about as dumb as can be to reach that.

Only way to do this feasibly is to take away all the luxuries of jail/prison and go SE Asia or SW Asia or Russia, etc style.

Make the family of the incarcerated feed him, clothe him, etc.

Heck, make the family pay for the drugs if they insist on lethal injection.

I’d even be open to the family of the victim actuating the method of death if they so chose to do so.

 

[BlindManWalking]

If it’s done right, i’ve read were the condemned is unconscious in a matter of seconds.

Those few seconds are the cruelest seconds ever experienced. Not as cruel as life in prison though, not by a long shot.

If I had to die, injection is the last method I’d want.

I’ll take shooting, hanging (break the neck style, not dangle for minutes), or beheading if I had a choice.

 

[SonCatcher]

Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening for a long, long time. The death penalty is far too popular here.

There is a petition in California to remove the Death sentence (replaced with life w/o possibility of parole). The initiative is supported by the bishops.

 

[anp1215]

There is a petition in California to remove the Death sentence (replaced with life w/o possibility of parole). The initiative is supported by the bishops.

California and Texas are worlds apart in most respects.

 

[Inquiringperson]

This might have some merit were it not for the ridiculous sentences handed out for multiple years which overcrowd the jail/prison system and rehabilitate not a friggin one.

Ya gonna really let some serial rapist, murderer, etc just soak up amenities their entire life, wasting money by appeal after appeal, etc?

Not me.

They made their choice to be repeated offenders or to singularly offend so grievously it’s nauseating.

If they’re on death row, they should get 1 appeal and 2 years to do it.

To abolish the death penalty would mean such a burden on tax payers as to be ridiculous.

**Kill em, we all gotta die sometime. **

If saving money is the issue, abolishing the death penalty is about as dumb as can be to reach that.

Only way to do this feasibly is to take away all the luxuries of jail/prison and go SE Asia or SW Asia or Russia, etc style.

Make the family of the incarcerated feed him, clothe him, etc.

Heck, make the family pay for the drugs if they insist on lethal injection.

I’d even be open to the family of the victim actuating the method of death if they so chose to do so.

According to that logic, won’t that be grounds to euthanize someone because they’re going to die anyway? I just want some clarification.

 

[BlindManWalking]

According to that logic, won’t that be grounds to euthanize someone because they’re going to die anyway? I just want some clarification.

Not at all.

We’re talking about criminals who are heinous, violent, and often repeat offenders with pretty much either no chance of rehabilitating them, or just sticking them in a cell for the rest of their life pointlessly.

I’d rather be executed than spend life in prison, especially given that prison is a cruel environment where non-violent criminals are housed with violent criminals and for the most part it is Lord of the Flies every day.

 

[Inquiringperson]

Not at all.

We’re talking about criminals who are heinous, violent, and often repeat offenders with pretty much either no chance of rehabilitating them, or just sticking them in a cell for the rest of their life pointlessly.

I’d rather be executed than spend life in prison, especially given that prison is a cruel environment where non-violent criminals are housed with violent criminals and for the most part it is Lord of the Flies every day.

Have these criminals met Christ before? Because the answer might not be to kill them, but to have prison chaplains.

 

[Tyler1234]

Have these criminals met Christ before? Because the answer might not be to kill them, but to have prison chaplains.

Thats an awesome idea.

 

[SaintPatrick333]

This might have some merit were it not for the ridiculous sentences handed out for multiple years which overcrowd the jail/prison system and rehabilitate not a friggin one.

Ya gonna really let some serial rapist, murderer, etc just soak up amenities their entire life, wasting money by appeal after appeal, etc?

Not me.

They made their choice to be repeated offenders or to singularly offend so grievously it’s nauseating.

If they’re on death row, they should get 1 appeal and 2 years to do it.

To abolish the death penalty would mean such a burden on tax payers as to be ridiculous.

Kill em, we all gotta die sometime.

If saving money is the issue, abolishing the death penalty is about as dumb as can be to reach that.

Only way to do this feasibly is to take away all the luxuries of jail/prison and go SE Asia or SW Asia or Russia, etc style.

Make the family of the incarcerated feed him, clothe him, etc.

Heck, make the family pay for the drugs if they insist on lethal injection.

I’d even be open to the family of the victim actuating the method of death if they so chose to do so.

So you’d rather the family of the accused be forced to suffer for the actions of their loved one? You’d make victims out of innocent people to punish them for being related to someone who did the same to others? Even going so far as to have the family choose the method of death of their loved one and then shove the bill on them? Thank God you aren’t the one making decisions on anything important like this. This response does not at ALL line up with Catholic teaching. I’d hope you’d brush up on the Catechism to see if you are truly in communion with the Church and all Her teachings.

 

[BlindManWalking]

So you’d rather the family of the accused be forced to suffer for the actions of their loved one? You’d make victims out of innocent people to punish them for being related to someone who did the same to others? Even going so far as to have the family choose the method of death of their loved one and then shove the bill on them? Thank God you aren’t the one making decisions on anything important like this. This response does not at ALL line up with Catholic teaching. I’d hope you’d brush up on the Catechism to see if you are truly in communion with the Church and all Her teachings.

Does that family not already suffer?

Why should the tax payer suffer because some family wanted to raise a hellion?

Who is really making the family of the convicted (accused assumes no trial, we’re talking about convicts) suffer? The victim? The state? No, the convict.

People need to realize the consequence of their actions. There is no real consequence in the American prison system as it stands.

Crimes deserving of death deserve death.

Re: Prison chaplains

What about in war? Have all the men who will die had a chance to meet Christ yet? Should we abolish war so everyone gets a chance to hear about Christ?

Do you think prison chaplains don’t exist? Is there not an article in the News section on a man in prison who defended the guards from attack after they assaulted a priest during Mass?

There comes a time when you put down dogs who bite children. The same is said for children who become dogs and bite like one in a different regard.

At least a dog just does what a dog does. A human who becomes an animal is lost.

To take a note from the Vatican II relativists… “just trust them to God’s mercy”.

 

[anp1215]

Does that family not already suffer?

Why should the tax payer suffer because some family wanted to raise a hellion?

Who is really making the family of the convicted (accused assumes no trial, we’re talking about convicts) suffer? The victim? The state? No, the convict.

People need to realize the consequence of their actions. There is no real consequence in the American prison system as it stands.

Crimes deserving of death deserve death.

Re: Prison chaplains

What about in war? Have all the men who will die had a chance to meet Christ yet? Should we abolish war so everyone gets a chance to hear about Christ?

Do you think prison chaplains don’t exist? Is there not an article in the News section on a man in prison who defended the guards from attack after they assaulted a priest during Mass?

There comes a time when you put down dogs who bite children. The same is said for children who become dogs and bite like one in a different regard.

At least a dog just does what a dog does. A human who becomes an animal is lost.

To take a note from the Vatican II relativists… “just trust them to God’s mercy”.

“because some family wanted to raise a hellion”?

Really?

 

[Armyvet007]

The death penalty is only a valid option if no non-lethal means exist to safeguard the community. Given the development of our legal, law enforcement, and penal systems in the US, it is not a morally valid option for us.

Oh, but the crimes were really, really bad- doesn’t matter, the death penalty is not a means of vengence, it is a means of last resort to ensure the safety of the community. Our current systems can ensure that safety.

Oh, but it means prisoners will be living off my dime- Right to life > money. Always.

Oh, but prison is so horrible, who would want to live the rest of their life there. Better to just kill them- I doubt one would argue the same if one was prisoner in question. Also, you can’t justify the taking of a life simply because a very fixable system is currently broken.

Crimes that deservie death should get death- Fine, go pick up the “first stone.” Last I checked the punishment for sin [including non-criminalized sins] is death.

It’s not fair that they get to live a long life while their victims do not- “fair” has nothing to do with what is moral.

There is no moral justification for the death penalty in the US of today.

 

[Inquiringperson]

Does that family not already suffer?

Why should the tax payer suffer because some family wanted to raise a hellion?

Who is really making the family of the convicted (accused assumes no trial, we’re talking about convicts) suffer? The victim? The state? No, the convict.

People need to realize the consequence of their actions. There is no real consequence in the American prison system as it stands.

Crimes deserving of death deserve death.

Re: Prison chaplains

**What about in war? Have all the men who will die had a chance to meet Christ yet? Should we abolish war so everyone gets a chance to hear about Christ? **

Do you think prison chaplains don’t exist? Is there not an article in the News section on a man in prison who defended the guards from attack after they assaulted a priest during Mass?

There comes a time when you put down dogs who bite children. The same is said for children who become dogs and bite like one in a different regard.

At least a dog just does what a dog does. A human who becomes an animal is lost.

To take a note from the Vatican II relativists… “just trust them to God’s mercy”.

First off, I believe you pulled a straw man. We are not talking about war, we are talking about the death penalty.

Second off, you seem to doubt the power of Christ by saying a human who becomes an animal is lost. As Jesus once said, nothing is impossible without the Father.

Third off, you pulled off name calling by claiming I’m a Vatican II relativist. For that matter, I am faithful to the Church, I am probably one of the most faithful Catholics in my school, and I am a traditional Catholic.

From Catechism 2267

Assuming that the guilty party’s identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.

If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people’s safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.

Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm - without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare, if not practically nonexistent.

The Catechism seems to go against what you believe. You seem to have an attitude of constant death penalty usage.