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| The real cost of death penalty http://abolishmentmovement.freeforums.org/the-real-cost-of-death-penalty-t1133.html |
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| Author: | Dee [ Wed Aug 01, 2007 1:29 pm ] |
| Post subject: | The real cost of death penalty |
The real cost of death penalty By Pete Warski A historic trial is now underway in Sioux City, one that media outlets are consistently referring to as Iowa's first death-penalty case in 40 years. It involves 35-year-old Dustin Honkin, a convicted drug dealer, who's accused of murdering three adults and two children in northern Iowa in 1993. Prosecutors claim that he tortured and shot them execution-style, burying their remains in shallow graves in a wooded area near Mason City. Honkin has pleaded not guilty to the charges. These crimes were allegedly committed because the victims acted as informants against Honkin's interstate drug ring, and without their testimony, authorities were unable to prove his guilt in that case. Because these were drug-related homicides involving an operation that crossed state lines, capital punishment was an option under federal law. That's an important distinction the media have failed to make clear. Should Honkin be convicted and sentenced to die, it's because this is a federal case, not a state case. The assertion that this is Iowa's first capital-punishment case in 40 years is misleading. Iowa is one of the 12 states that does not have the death penalty. And that's all for the best. Indeed, these were murders of a particularly heinous nature: Prosecutors contend that they were planned well in advance and that the victims were beaten before their deaths. If Honkin is guilty as charged, he should spend the rest of his life behind bars. But this trial - which is expected to last for at least three months and cost more than $2.5 million, making it the most expensive case ever argued in this state - represents what is typical of capital-murder trials in the United States and just one reason that the death penalty is an inherently bad idea. Capital punishment almost always costs more than life imprisonment in the long run - counterintuitive, perhaps, but true nonetheless. That's because death penalty cases are so poorly handled. Certainly, if Honkin were arrested for murder on Thursday and executed on Friday, the death penalty would be a far more swift and efficient form of justice. But that doesn't happen. The average time that a prisoner spends on death row in the United States is 10.43 years, and that costs taxpayers an average of $61 per day, per inmate. That's time spent actually on death row after conviction and sentencing, not including the trial. Yet most Americans still support the death penalty, including our current president, former governor of the state that is America's cheerleader for executions. Dubya himself had more inmates killed during his tenure than any other governor in U.S. history. He says that it's a deterrent to violent crime and an ultimate punishment for those who do kill. So what did he say in June 2000 when questioned on National Public Radio about the risk of innocent people being executed? "Every case I have reviewed, I have been comfortable with the innocence or guilt of the person I've looked at. I do not believe we've put a guilty - I mean innocent - person to death in the state of Texas." Wow. That's comforting to know. Despite Bush's reassuring words, however, that very question remains one of the most troubling aspects of the death penalty. If a prisoner is executed and new evidence surfaces a few years later that suggests her or his innocence, it's too late. The person is dead and can be exonerated only as a polite gesture to family members and friends. And the risk of a convicted murderer escaping from prison is far outweighed by the risk of killing a person who did no wrong. But then what about deterrence? Doesn't the thought of execution make criminals think twice? Not exactly. There's the obvious point that people who have reached a level of desperation that causes them to consider taking the life of another person are likely not very concerned about the consequences. Then there's the less obvious (but more concrete) point: States that don't have capital punishment almost all boast homicide rates significantly lower than those that do. Iowa should take pride in being a minority state that has banned capital punishment. It's a vengeful, costly practice that cannot undo heinous deeds that have already been done, nor make the nation's streets safer. |
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