I interviewed Rev. Carol Pickett Friday. I asked him to detail exactly what will happen on the final day. He described in detail what happened on several of the 95 executions he witnessed. I'm sure he left out some of the more graphic details, but he alluded to enough to give my mind fodder for fear and sadness. I could not get the images out of my mind last night and I tossed and turned - not with fear, but with the questions of revenge versus justice. I think it actually comes down not to what is the right thing to do, but what is the expedient and financial thing to do. I don't for a moment believe that the government ponders weighty spiritual issues. I'm pretty much convinced that after spending a million dollars or so per prisoner on death row that actually putting these men and women to death is cheaper than housing them in secure facilities for another 50 years at $40 to $80,000 a pop. Remember, most death row prisoners are in their early 20's to 30's.
If we go down that slippery slope of cost versus humanity, it creates a picture of who we are as a civilization that I don't care to think about. The death penalty becomes neither right or wrong, but a mere accounting issue. And that, is really scary.
1 comment:
You are wrong about your statistics. If the State (of Florida, in my case) ended the Death Penalty, they would save 51 million dollars a year in legal costs related to the appeals. Keeping a man on Death Row is far more expensive than life in prison.
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