> 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

> 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.