kf7mjf wrote:Classic wrote:When it's cut and dry (caught red-handed) like Ridgway, off him! Or the whack job that killed the people in the Colorado theater, or the Boston marathon Bomber - there is no doubt so just off these types of murderers.
Save money by abolishing the parole board and build more prisons! Make people serve their entire sentence. No more of this get 20 years and only serve 7.
Building more prisons and abolishing parole costs more. Community supervision is cheaper, and in the case of certain crimes, arguably as efficient. The far right tough on crime movement, coupled with for profit prisons have made an entire industry out of incarceration. Meanwhile, the US has the highest per capita rate of prisoners.
And as for the death penalty? Hammurabi called. He wants his primitive law code back.
not really, it can be cheaper (see Joe Arpaio in Arizona, a county jail, but could be a model for prison efficiency) and the cost of inc incarceration is cheaper than the costs of the crimes these people commit. Let's say it costs $20K to keep one person in prison for a year ( I maybe low on my estimate, but again our system is probably far from peak efficiency)
What does that same repeat offender cost us on the outside? Consider:
The added cost of extra Police (include the investigators, crime lab, etc), border patrols, 911 system and operators, and other emergency responders
The added cost of security, alarm systems, locks, cameras, safes, etc... don't forget the labor hours involved as well...how much time do you spend locking up your stuff?
Insurance, deductibles, lost wages for taking time to deal with the loss or just taking the loss and buying new stuff 'cause the deductible was higher than the value of the items taken
The courts, defense attorneys, juror, county jails (while awaiting trial), transportation (to and from court)
Probation, parole, supervision....add these up
The cost of one court case (not including the victim's expenses) could easily exceed the $20K it would cost to keep the person in jail.....and that is just one court case! Multiply this times 5 or 10 or??
Then consider....peace of mind
nope, way cheaper to keep career criminals behind bars