3 ms·

This is the ultimate government hack. At least in the US, people will say they support the death penalty for violent crimes because they don't want to pay for

by xrd 2y ago

This is the ultimate government hack. At least in the US, people will say they support the death penalty for violent crimes because they don't want to pay for that criminal to live off tax dollars in a prison. But, they won't do simple research to understand the cost of executing someone far outpaces the cost to keep them in prison for life. Ask people to bear the massive cost of the elderly and they will say "hmm, well, oh, they should have planned better!" Ask people to pay for those same people labeled as "criminals" and no price is too great. All it takes is a few PE firms lobbying for "tough on crime" measures, and the ingenuity to secure a few prison contracts with the state. Problem solved for everyone. Hopefully DOGE will fix these types of loopholes, right? Having seen a friend without means try to get his elderly father transitioned into a retirement home was shocking. His dad was a vet and even with that it was terrifying as a bystander.

krisoft 2y ago
> At least in the US, people will say they support the death penalty for violent crimes because they don't want to pay for that criminal to live off tax dollars in a prison. But, they won't do simple research to understand the cost of executing someone far outpaces the cost to keep them in prison for life. The contradiction is only in your head. The people who think that also probably think that executing someone shouldn’t cost that much. Bullets are cheap, it is all the appeals which costs money. For many with that opinion if they had their way someone would get convicted, sentenced and then executed in less than a day. Some might want more procedural safeguards. Like an appeal in a month and then execution a day after that. Still massively cheaper than keeping someone locked up for the rest of their lives. These might be inhumane and monstrous wishes, but they have internal consistency. It is not like the cost of executing someone is constrained by the rules of physics.
inglor_cz 2y ago
"But, they won't do simple research to understand the cost of executing someone far outpaces the cost to keep them in prison for life." High costs of capital penalty are a deliberate choice. There is nothing intrinsic about executions that makes them expensive. Keeping that person behind the bars for decades while all sorts of appeals are pending is the expensive part. The British abolished their death penalty in 1965. Prior to that, the norm was "three clear Sundays" from the trial (later, from one short appeal) to the execution. Of all the arguments against the death penalty in Old Blighty, cost just didn't play a role. It wasn't costly to hold someone in the condemned cell for a month, then hang them using a two-member team (usually Pierrepoint and his assistant).

by xrd 2y ago

krisoft 2y ago

> At least in the US, people will say they support the death penalty for violent crimes because they don't want to pay for that criminal to live off tax dollars in a prison. But, they won't do simple research to understand the cost of executing someone far outpaces the cost to keep them in prison for life. The contradiction is only in your head. The people who think that also probably think that executing someone shouldn’t cost that much. Bullets are cheap, it is all the appeals which costs money. For many with that opinion if they had their way someone would get convicted, sentenced and then executed in less than a day. Some might want more procedural safeguards. Like an appeal in a month and then execution a day after that. Still massively cheaper than keeping someone locked up for the rest of their lives. These might be inhumane and monstrous wishes, but they have internal consistency. It is not like the cost of executing someone is constrained by the rules of physics.

inglor_cz 2y ago

"But, they won't do simple research to understand the cost of executing someone far outpaces the cost to keep them in prison for life." High costs of capital penalty are a deliberate choice. There is nothing intrinsic about executions that makes them expensive. Keeping that person behind the bars for decades while all sorts of appeals are pending is the expensive part. The British abolished their death penalty in 1965. Prior to that, the norm was "three clear Sundays" from the trial (later, from one short appeal) to the execution. Of all the arguments against the death penalty in Old Blighty, cost just didn't play a role. It wasn't costly to hold someone in the condemned cell for a month, then hang them using a two-member team (usually Pierrepoint and his assistant).