The following is excerpted from SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity:
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On the Morality and Efficacy of Death Sentences
The ACLU has eight objections to the death penalty:
o unfair,
o irreversible;
o barbarous,
o unjustified retribution,
o costs more than incarceration,
o not a deterrent to capital crimes,
o less popular than the alternatives, and
o inhuman and anachronistic.
Others say, the death penalty:
o violates America’s founding principles;
o is the hallmark of authoritarian regimes;
o creates more victims;
o is arbitrary and capricious;
o is racist, classist and financially contingent;
o deprives us of our own human dignity;
o denies our ability to change;
o is cruel and denigrating;
o is unanimously excluded in international jurisdictions; and
o as no one is beyond redemption, it detracts from the transformative power of God.
Much of the above is moralistic, but let us look at some of them.
Life in Prison is Cheaper than a Penalty of Death
While at first glance it seems that it should be cheaper to swiftly inject a lethal dose than to keep a lifer in air conditioned comfort, there are sound arguments that the added cost of capital trials is greater than a simple one maintaining the prisoner in jail. Duke University estimated that death penalty trials take 3-5 times longer than typical murders, plus, they are invariably followed by appeals. It costs North Carolina $2.16 million more per execution trial than one for a life sentence. At $100/day, this would keep a prisoner for nearly 60 years.
Thus, the matter of deterrence, perhaps, becomes more important. That, and the diminishing need for trials, if economics were of consequence. (This the first of several parts to come analyzing whether the death penalty works or not, plus trends on adjudicated termination.)
The ACLU has eight objections to the death penalty:
o unfair,
o irreversible;
o barbarous,
o unjustified retribution,
o costs more than incarceration,
o not a deterrent to capital crimes,
o less popular than the alternatives, and
o inhuman and anachronistic.
Others say, the death penalty:
o violates America’s founding principles;
o is the hallmark of authoritarian regimes;
o creates more victims;
o is arbitrary and capricious;
o is racist, classist and financially contingent;
o deprives us of our own human dignity;
o denies our ability to change;
o is cruel and denigrating;
o is unanimously excluded in international jurisdictions; and
o as no one is beyond redemption, it detracts from the transformative power of God.
Much of the above is moralistic, but let us look at some of them.
Life in Prison is Cheaper than a Penalty of Death
While at first glance it seems that it should be cheaper to swiftly inject a lethal dose than to keep a lifer in air conditioned comfort, there are sound arguments that the added cost of capital trials is greater than a simple one maintaining the prisoner in jail. Duke University estimated that death penalty trials take 3-5 times longer than typical murders, plus, they are invariably followed by appeals. It costs North Carolina $2.16 million more per execution trial than one for a life sentence. At $100/day, this would keep a prisoner for nearly 60 years.
Thus, the matter of deterrence, perhaps, becomes more important. That, and the diminishing need for trials, if economics were of consequence. (This the first of several parts to come analyzing whether the death penalty works or not, plus trends on adjudicated termination.)
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The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 253 to 8949. Nearly 200 points came in the final 45 minutes...after the first press conference of Barack Obama, where he, essentially, said nothing, with his economic advisors behind him. Both GM and Ford reported on their third quarters, and the news was disconcerting, especially for GM, which indicated that without governmental assistance, it will go bankrupt next year (if you read between the lines). The national unemployment rate went up from 6.1% to 6.5%, with 1.2 million jobs lost this year. So why did the stock market increase? All the above was already anticipated the past couple of days. Much of the world went up, with two notable exceptions being Japan's Nikkei dropping 3.6% and Sweden's OSSX All Share down 6%. Something seems to be happening in those Scandinavian countries.Crude stayed largely unchanged at $61/barrel, with the Dated Brent Spot at $57/bbl. Gold rose $8/toz to $737.
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Paloma is now a hurricane with sustained 105 MPH winds, and will make a Cuban landfall on Sunday. Tropical Storm Maysak, now at 45 MPH, is moving towards China and should yet strengthen, but it remains unclear where it will really go, although a wild guess is that Maysak will loop around and head towards Viet Nam.
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