otal). This study concluded that the extra cost to the state of each execution actually carried out was $2.16 million. This means that it cost approximately $3 million dollars to try, convict, litigate, house, and then finally execute a person while it costs slightly over $1 million to secure and carry out a life sentence.The money that is spent on executions should go toward the prevention of crime and to the victim’s families, not to carry out yet another death whether it is legalized or not. The money saved could be spent on preventative measures at the local and state level for alcohol and drug treatment centers. A study done at CSU Chico found that 49% of people incarcerated for murder or attempted murder were under the influence of alcohol. This at least would be a step in a positive direction instead of just closing our eyes and thinking everything will fix itself. If our society wants to get serious about crime prevention, it needs to find alternative ways in dealing with the problems other than end-all solutions like capital punishment. Deterrence is a big point that supporters of the death penalty like to bring up when they’re out of ideas that would make half an ounce of sense. Richard Dieter, executive director the Death Penalty Information Center, reports that in January 1995 Peter D. Hart Research Associates conducted an opinion poll of randomly selected police chiefs in the United States. The researchers asked the “top cops” to rank the effectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrence to murder and crime in general. The Hart Poll found that the chiefs always ranked it last behind curbing drug abuse, more police officers on the streets, lowering technical barriers to prosecution, longer sentences, and a better economy with more jobs (Deiter23).If anyone would know how the criminal mind works, it is the criminal himself. If you accept that as postulate, then consider this; Michael Ross, an inmate...
