Sunday, March 15, 2009

Incredible Costs: Life Without Parole

Incredible Costs: Life Without Parole (LWOP)
LWOP Capital Murder Cases, Maximum Security & Geriatric Care

From:  Dudley Sharp, independent researcher, death penalty expert, former opponent, 832-439-2113, CV at bottom   


1. " . . .state officials estimate that an average prisoner costs California about $35,000 a year and that elderly inmates, who require more care, cost an average of $70,000."

or $89,000/elderly inmate/yr in 2019 dollars, excluding maximum security cell costs, for LWOP capital murder cases. Maximum security cells, in Ca, are as high as $170,000/inmate/yr., as opposed to average cell costs, which do not apply to maximum security.

using Inflation Calculator
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

"The price of punishment" SCOTT SMITH. The Record, Jan 29, 2006
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060129/NEWS01/601290307/1001/ARCHIVE


2. "A California study found that annual medical costs for prison inmates 55 and older are $60,000 to $80,000."

or $104,000 average in 2019 dollars, excluding maximum security cell costs, for LWOP capital murder cases. Maximum security cells, in Ca, are as high as $170,000/inmate/yr.

"Robbing Ourselves Blind: The Economics of Getting Tough on Crime, Hary Merriman, Sociology of Law, 9/30/00.
http://www.oberlin.edu/news-info/01may/robbingblind.pdf

3. Older prisoners  (2005 and 2011) cost 3-9 times more than younger prisoners, from: Human Rights Watch. Old Behind Bars: The Aging Prison Population in the United States.Human Rights Watch; Jan 27, 2012 & American Civil Liberties Union. At America's Expense: The Mass Incarceration of the Elderly. American Civil Liberties Union; New York, NY: Jun, 2012

4. "The National Center on Institutions and Alternatives, an Alexandria-based organization that advocates alternatives to incarceration, estimates the average yearly cost of confining an elderly prisoner at $69,000 -- more than three times the $22,000 spent on ordinary inmates.

which is  $103,000 in 2019 dollars, excluding maximum security cell costs, for LWOP capital murder cases.

" Cost of Housing Older Inmates Goes Up As Risk Goes Down"
Bill Sizemore, The Virginian-Pilot, 3/7/00,
http://p199.ezboard.com/fdrugpolicytalkseriesnewsarticles.showMessage?topicID=10.topic

5. "Young prisoners cost the system $21,000 per year on average while older prisoners cost $60,000. And for those over age 60 the average cost is $69,000 per year -- twice the cost of a nursing home." "The situation will get worse as our prison population continues to age. In 1998 7.2 percent of the 1.8 million prisoners in federal, state and local prisons were over age 50, up from 4.9 percent in 1990 And the numbers will increase to as much as 10 percent over the next few years."

or $92,000 - $106,000/inmate/yr, excluding maximum security cell costs, for LWOP capital murder cases.

"Release of older prisoners could save taxpayers money, Bernard Starr, News Chief, 9/13/99
http://www.polkonline.com/stories/091399/opi_oldprisner.shtml

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MANY ADDITIONAL STATE COST REVIEWS

DEATH PENALTY COST: SAVING MONEY
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2013/02/death-penalty-cost-saving-money.html


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600+ pro death penalty quotes from murder victims' families &
3300+ from some of the greatest thinkers in history
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Research, with sources, fact checking, vetting & critical thinking, as required of anyone within a public policy debate and which rebut all anti-death penalty claims.
 
Most will realize that the media has been using only anti-death penalty claims and , then, failed to fact check, vet, not use critical thinking, with that research, while avoiding all pro-death penalty research and experts, for decades. How do I know most will realize this? Because they wouldn't have seen any of this, prior:
 
The Death Penalty: Justice & Saving More Innocents
and
Students, Academics & Journalists: Death Penalty Research
(7 pro-death penalty experts listed)