Posted on 10/29/2009 8:35:18 AM PDT by fujimoh
KNOXVILLE - For the first time in Knox County judicial history, a judge will instruct the jury in the trial of convicted torture-slaying ringleader Lemaricus Davidson that it is more expensive to execute someone than to sentence them to spend the rest of their life in prison.
At the request of defense attorney Doug Trant, Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner said this morning that he will tell jurors that a 2004 study by the state Comptroller's Office concluded that execution is a more expensive form of punishment than life without parole
(Excerpt) Read more at knoxnews.com ...
A single round to the back of the cranium is quite cheap.
One instance of government spending I’m willing to tolerate more of.
It shouldn’t be.
And I’ll buy the first round.
Did they include the time value of money in that not all expenses are spent at the same time? Also there may be value in some cases in achieving immediate resolution rather than leaving the decision open to future re-examination.
That is my main point in opposing the death penalty. It costs too much and the money goes to the wrong people—lawyers. I’d rather see guards and construction workers have a job than lawyers. And there is always the possibility— probability— that someone will be executed unjustly, framed through incompetence or malevolence.
A piece of rope with a knot in it doesn’t cost very much.
Then hold an "Executioner's Lottery". Winner gets to pull the trigger. You could balance the state budget and put a Chevy in every garage with the earnings.
Not executing this animal sends a message to every thug in the state that they can do whatever they want and not face the death penalty.
The legal fees from the lawyers who keep appealing the convictions is what drives up the costs of killing these scumbags. My answer is, if the lawyer loses on appeal, then he/she gets executed next to their client. This way, justice is served by all. (sarcasm is fun....)
The ones we execute never get released for good behavior.
Because people serving life in prison NEVER seek any legal challenges like those on death row. < /sarc >
Some of the best things in life are more expensive. There is a certain satisfaction in paying for something done well (even if most of the money goes to attorneys).
I’ll volunteer and provide the firearm and the ammo!
I’m cheap and easy.
I actually agree with you. I’m not opposed to capital punishment on moral grounds, but our process is way too convoluted and I think that there are a fair amount of people who do get unfairly put on death row.
So?
Since we are talking about a double abduction, rape, and murder, are these guys innocent? Is there a doubt as to guilt?
NEWS FLASH.....The reason it costs more to put some evil person out of our misery is, lawyers are purposely employing the strategy of making it more expensive. They siphon off the money, gain fame and as a side effect, stretch out justice for decades. There is no reason why a state supreme court cannot follow a case while it is happening, and rule within a week if there is any problems with evidence or inferior representation. One week and one day after sentence is passed, goodbye Charlie hate to see you go.
Hangman's nooses are racist. Didn't you get the memo?
It’s not the electricity it’s the lawyers. If we executed the attorneys with their client when they lost his appeals the cost would come way way down.
It shouldn't be that way, but even if it is, it's worth it.
i suppose its the incessant appeals. they need some standard before allowing an appeal such as demonstrable new evidence or evidence of misconduct. call it...tort reform.
Then keep the SOBs in prison for LIFE, and actual LIFE term.
With the crazy sentencing the way it is, when I see someone who commits a horrible murder is sentenced to LIFE and then you read that they are eligible for PAROL. LEAVE these EVILs in there for LIFE, their LIFE.
I wasn’t speaking of specific cases. Certainly most death penalty convictions are correct— maybe even all of them to date. But we’ve see enough evidence of incompetence and bad character on the part of a small number of forensics experts to leave enough doubt in my mind that nothing as final as the death penalty should be used. When they rely on scientific evidence and testimony that would require a graduate degree to understand and judge as to its truthfulness, (not to mention use of ‘proven’ science that often seems to be unproven in some way eventually),I want no part in sentencing someone to death. I don’t trust the word of ‘experts’ on much these days.
And even if a case is certain, why spend money on lawyers when a few extra guards and construction workers gainfully employed will cost you less? I’d rather see a prison dedicated entirely to those with life w/o parole sentences built in the middle of Death Valley with terribly underrated HVAC in the cell areas, powered with all the ‘best’ renewable energy resources. Make em suffer.
This judge is instructing the jury in a specific case.
Well worth it, here.
How much money is saved by the state having a legitimate (one that is used regularly) death penalty? Think about how many scumbags plead out to life in prison, without parole, just to avoid the possibility of being sentenced to death. Probably well in excess of twice what it costs to execute each year’s group of scumbags.
I don’t see any grounding in law that allows the Judge to do this. It should not enter into the jury’s decision making at all. I would expect this to be appealed.
That "study" is flawed in a similar way to those studies that proclaim that "we" (meaning "the United States") are spending too much money on health care, and that "we" would save money by going to a government-run system.
What do you mean "we", Kimosabe?
The fallacy is that the basis for and the ownership of and/or responsibility for costs and benefits are not equivalent between the two choices. For example, in the health-care case, going to a government-run plan could in fact "save" money over the current system (for example, by rationing care), however in doing so it would cost much, much more to many millions of people through costs imposed such as losing their jobs, their wealth, and their health. So, it's a grossly-unfair statement and comparison to make because it glosses over the fine print in a way that is intentionally deceptive.
When people talk about the hypothetical case where "all things being equal" a certain outcome will result, you can be certain that all things will not be equal in the real world. It's a bit like saying, to simplify the math, let's model the Earth as if it were shaped like a pyramid or a cube instead of spherical. How much faith are you going to put into such an analysis?
The case described here is analogous in that you have to examine who gets the costs and who gets the benefits. While it may or may not be true that lifetime incarceration "costs" the government less than executing the murderer, I can guarantee you that executing the murderer costs the murderer much, much more than the alternative, whereas the incarceration approach benefits the murderer infinitely more. Conversely, executing the murderer arguably benefits society, even though the dollar costs may be higher. There are many cases in this world where paying for the "premium" option rather than going with the cheapest bid is the wisest move.
Also, figure into the picture the fact that "lifetime incarceration" may not be all that it's cracked up to be - just look at how well the Lockerbie bomber's "lifetime incarceration" in Scotland worked, for one example...
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency auctioned off 5 tickets for $17,000 dollars each to kill an elk. We could raise funds for the penal system by taking a leaf out of the TWRA’s playbook. The positive side is a convicted felon is executed in a timely manner AND money goes into the cofers of the state penal system, hence more jails, prisons, guards, etc.! (Tim Burchett or Stacy Campfield, if you’re reading this, please take note.)
Judge Baumgartner is elected! Barf!!! He didn’t get my vote. Nor did Atty. Randy Nichols, BTW.
Actually, in TN blacks on death row are in the minority (little known factoid). The majority are whites based on the State of TN’s own figures.
Hell, I’d pay for the gun!
Is it more expensive to provide free health care to illegals or to check IDs? Is it more expensive to pay welfare to single mothers or to limit it to children born of a marriage? Is it more expensive to bus kids to cross town schools to achieve ‘racial balance’ or to let everyone go to their neighborhood schools? I could go on all day.
Dang! It only costs $74 for a deer/elk combo license in WA.
Execute them within a few years, INSTEAD of the typical 20 years, and we'd save a BOAT LOAD of money.
When you execute a criminal you don’t have to worry about some bleeding-heart liberal coming into power and declaring that the murderer has served his time and should be let out of prison and given the right to vote (democrat).
“Devil’s Advocate” come to mind.
As a Tennessean, I’m more than happy to see money spent for a good cause.
judge baumgartner should keep his damned mouth shut, he’s attempting to influence the jury against justice.
In this case, it’s worth every penny.
Can't be said enough. In bold.
That is a good - to my mind the only good - reason against the death penalty.
On the other issues, we need to revise the process so it takes a year, at the most two, before convicted murderers are executed.
For example, the "cruel and unusual punishment" card is constantly played by murderers' lawyers. That needs to stop. As long as the murderer is executed by legal means and is not tortured or starved or beaten to death, tough tittie. The plea should be rejected out of hand.
As our governor here has said, we're "puttin' in an express lane". It needs to be dramatically faster. There's no recidivism among executed murderers.
I have heard that for the past 40 years...its garbage...Any thing that sounds so silly is a lie.......
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.