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8/9/2019 Death Penalty - To Do or Not To Do
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/death-penalty-to-do-or-not-to-do 1/2
June 18, 2010
Societal Killing – To Do Or Not To Do?
This is a hot topic, with the extermination of a convicted murderer by firing squad in Utah. Some will
be opposed
to
killing
on
any
grounds,
some
will
be
opposed
to
not
permanently
stopping
a dangerous
killer for the safety of others. Both sides, of course, have and make arguments of merit in the national
media. You can decide which side of the fence you are on. But what occurred to me is that the
discussion sometimes lacks a full perspective by the questions not being asked, let alone answered. And
answering these questions on a personal basis and as a society may color our decision on the death
penalty.
I will leave aside the discussion of retribution (“eye for an eye” from the old Testament), the
expediency of “kill ‘em so they can’t hurt anyone else” (assume they are jailed) and, not least, “thou
shalt not kill” as a moral and religious tenet. These are being amply discussed elsewhere. No, I will just
list the ones I think people also need to consider that are not in the mainstream arguments waging
across the nation.
1. What is the real cost in our taxes of keeping a murderer in jail per year? Sent to a maximum‐
security prison, such costs can range upwards from $75,000 per year per prisoner (times 3,300
currently on death row = $247,500,000 a year).
2. Do we as a society feel that $75,000 is better spent keeping someone in jail or feeding the
starving? There are 13 million underfed children in America… $75,000 a year would feed 30 kids
a year. $247,500,000 would feed 9,900.
3. So, do we feel that death row inmates should be “cleared out” immediately upon sentencing
and, if not, what is a humane time to allow for legal prudence?
4. How much are we willing to spend with back‐evaluating evidence using new DNA procedures and
if, as in Illinois, as many as 25% of reopened rape and murder cases are found to be in error,
what should we do insofar as all the death row inmates are concerned? What is the payout for
wrongful
conviction
to
them
or,
if
now
deceased,
their
families?
5. What proof, anywhere, exists in non‐death sentencing countries to show that killers do not kill
again? And if they do not, why not, what rehab do they have in place? Will that work here?
6. If rehab works on killers, what does it cost compared to the $75,000 a year? Is it cheaper to
rehab someone or kill them?
7. Do we even want money and taxes to enter into the discussion? Is that moral?
8/9/2019 Death Penalty - To Do or Not To Do
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8. If rehab mostly works, but not always, what percentage of recidivism would you find acceptable
(repeat killers)? 5%? 10%? More? Less?
9. The human mechanism does not go out like a light switch. People pronounced dead have come
back to life saying they heard the last rites, felt the sheet being pulled over their faces. Since the
moment of death is not currently accurately discernable, what is an acceptable definition of
death and time of death? In the ‘30s it was heartbeat. Was that cruel then and is our definition of
inability to regain life (shot in the heart, severe electric shock, drug induced stopped breathing)
cruel now?
10. Do we, as a society, condone cruelty like this when done on a personal level (i.e. unsanctioned
murder) and, if not, why do we condone it as a society?
11. Do we need a real, scientific, definition of death and, thereby, how to get the mechanism into
that
state
as
quickly
and
painlessly
as
possible?
Or
is
it
easier
to
accept
a
drowning
man
as
already dead for all intents and purposes and overlook the pain and suffering in the process?
12. If the law is supposed to be fair and impartial, but the death laws are based on partial facts,
when does the law fall into disrepute to an extent that undermines society as a whole?
My personal opinion on all this does not matter. What does matter is that society is grappling with
this problem without all the facts and knowledge needed, some questions of which are listed above, but
by no means all. We all need to ask more questions and then form a (political) consensus under the law.
Until that happens, we will continue guessing at a solution while we shoot, gas, inject and electrocute
the convicted until we know better.