U.S. Counts Cost of Death Penalty

Many Americans want to abolish the death penalty in order to save money

The United States remains one of the last Western countries to continue to execute its criminals. The right over life and death is legitimized by much popular support, as 36 out of 50 states practice the death penalty. However, during this economic crisis, there have been an unexpected collateral effect: the blossoming of projects to abolish capital punishment, which is very costly to prisons.

Lobbyists who wish to abolish the death penalty have come to the halls of Congress with a particular eagerness. Ten American states have examined projects that seek to eliminate the death penalty, including which are New Mexico, Maryland, New Hampshire, and Montana. Maryland seems to be the one closest to abolishing capital punishment; its governor Martin O’Malley has pronounced his support for the abolitionist law.

“The cost of the death penalty… is a valid reason in these times of austerity”, stated Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico. Richardson is hoping to pass the abolitionist law this year and he emphasizes that abolition would save New Mexico more than a million dollars, in that state that at the moment has two people on the death row. One of the condemned prisoners, Terry Clerk, is a child killer and has been detained for forty-nine years. “I have softened my position”, recognizes Richardson, who affirms that he has been influenced by the archbishop of Santa Fe, Michael Sheehan, who is opposed to the death penalty because of his beliefs. However, the governor adds that he keeps an eye on the public “I do not exclude vetoing the law”.

The Victims’ Voices

Montana’s senate, which has executed three people since 1976, is examining a position on the abolitionist law. Apart from the costs of it, many militant organizations emphasize that prison for life would be as great a punishment as lethal injection. Dave Wanzenried is an elected democrat and author of the proposed law; he has affirmed that the voices of the victims’ families influence the debate. These are more concerned with the fact that death cannot be justified by another death, and estimate that the twenty to thirty year delay that precedes execution is too long for the prisoners to develop a feeling of true repair. “There is a strong probability that someone is condemned and wrongly executed” said Dave Wanzenried.

Capital punishment costs up to ten times more than life in prison. The parole procedures last for many years and the lawyers are usually paid by the State. The question of constitutionality of certain lethal injections, and the pain that they cause prisoners, causes jurisprudence-related delays. Maintain a death hall and chamber is expensive.

The Supreme Court re-authorized the death penalty in 1976.