Financial Costs Related To Capital Punishment

Capital punishment is one of the most debated topics in the world. Human rights groups and several other opponents constantly question how another human being's life can be taken in the name of justice. Several of these also claim that capital punishment incurs a lot of expenses, which is borne by taxpayers. While the execution itself is not expensive, there are several other costs that are incurred by the administration when a convicted criminal is sitting on death row.

Trial Cost 
Due to the requirements laid down by the US Supreme Court, cases where the capital punishment is sought are often more expensive when compared to cases where the death penalty is not sought. All potential jury members have to be painstakingly questioned about their views on the death penalty. During the course of this questioning, which takes a few days, there are additional costs associated with paying the prosecutors, court staff defense lawyers and the presiding judge. Jury selection can be a long drawn process in capital punishment cases if the opposing lawyers are unhappy with the jury panel selection.

Furthermore, the defendant is allowed to bring in experts and character witnesses. The testimonies of these experts and witnesses are important, as it could help the defendant beat the death penalty and get a lesser sentence. So, this also adds burden to the trial cost.

Appealing 
If a person is sentenced to death, he/she can appeal the sentence. This means that more costs are incurred due to the long appealing process. The average length of a appeal process in case of capital punishment is around 15 to 20 years. The Urban Institute's study revealed that due to long appeal process, in the state of Maryland, state prosecutors spend $1.9 million more to get death penalty in a case compared to a case where the punishment is incarceration in prison.

Incarceration Costs 
During the time that a death row inmate is appealing his/her sentence, incarceration is mandatory. This increases the basic cost of housing the prisoner in a prison. Furthermore, prisoners on death row are more likely to harm themselves or others, and hence, they are housed in a separate prison compared to the general population in the prison. This also costs additional expenditure, which is borne by the state.

Conclusion 
Costs associated with capital punishment are immense and at times because of this, many state governments prefer abolishing death penalty, as incurring this expense could adversely affect other law enforcement measures. In fact, the money spent on capital punishment cases could be better utilized to improve the general law and order situation in a state.

Kum Martin is an online leading expert in laws. He also offers top quality articles like:
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Do the Beatitudes teach that Christian believers must be poor?

Do the Beatitudes teach that Christian believers must be poor to get into Heaven?
One of the most common misunderstandings about what the Bible says about money is the idea that Jesus advocated poverty for believers, based on the words "blessed are the poor."

The statement, "blessed are the poor," occurs in the Beatitudes in both Matthew in "the Sermon on the Mount" and in Luke in "the Sermon on the Plain." The statement by Jesus, "blessed are the poor," is a much more radical statement than most of us have ever realized.

In the original Greek, both Matthew and Luke use the word "ptochos." English Bibles translate the Greek word "ptochos" as "poor." Greek has another word for "poor," "penes." Penes referred to people who had to work hard for a living, often struggling to make ends meet. In contrast, a "ptochos" was someone who was utterly destitute and cut off from all family and social ties. In other words, a "ptochos" was a beggar.

In the advanced agrarian society in which Jesus lived, the "penes" were the peasant farmers and artisans struggling to earn a living in an unjust and oppressive system. The "ptochos" were the degraded and expendable people living at the very lowest levels of the society. The "ptochos" were unwanted, displaced, and rejected.

Both Matthew and Luke use the word "ptochos" to claim that the Kingdom of God belongs to the beggars, the destitute, and the expendables.

As soon as the phrase, "blessed are the poor," is disconnected from the vision of the Kingdom of God, it becomes a prime target for a makeover into the idea that Jesus was advocating poverty.

When I think back to my own Sunday school education about Jesus and money, I am both amazed and appalled by how often we were told that Jesus taught that God wanted us to be poor. If being rich was going to keep us out of Heaven, being poor was our best guarantee to get in.

The biggest mistake my Sunday School made is the most typical Christian misunderstanding of the Beatitudes. It confused description with prescription. We didn't understand that Jesus was describing his vision of life under the Kingdom of God. We thought that we had to be poor in order to be blessed. We missed that Jesus was saying that even the poorest of the poor would receive God's blessing. That is the radical statement. We thought he was prescribing required behavior to get into Heaven. We thought God wanted us to be poor. In fact, Jesus was describing his vision of life on Earth without poverty.

Kalinda Rose Stevenson, Ph.D. What if most of what you believe about Jesus and money is not true? Don't let Bible study lessons based on mistranslations and biblical urban legends fill you with guilt and confusion about money. I have written a book about 8 sayings of Jesus, Going Broke With Jesus:How Heroic Stories Intended To Liberate The Poor Become Biblical Urban Legends About The Evils Of Money to show how often Christian teaching misunderstands the true intentions of what Jesus said about money. Get your copy at www.GoingBrokeWithJesus.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kalinda_Rose_Stevenson,_PhD

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