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Comment by baguasquirrel | Hacker News Reader

Why should good people have keep watch over these kinds of criminals? Isn't that barbaric?

The time and the labor could be better spent elsewhere. Every guard we hire, every prison we build, is a hospital that couldn't be built, a teacher who couldn't be hired. I feel this is barbaric towards those in need who've done no wrong.

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Wasn't the parent's point that it's cheaper to imprison for life than it is to execute?

http://www.nyadp.org/main/faq#0

Interesting. I had always just assumed, obviously speciously, that executing somebody would be a lot cheaper than feeding, clothing, housing, and guarding them for 40+ years.

The source isn't unbiased, of course, but it's made me want to re-check my assumptions.

It's largely economics of scale. The linked post says that New York State is spending vast sums of money just to house twelve inmates on death row, so obviously it would be cheaper to throw those twelve inmates into the existing prison system for life.

On the other hand, if we were to execute a thousand prisoners per year then it would start to get a whole lot cheaper. For instance, I'd be in favour of executing the scrote that stole my bike.

Then fix the death penalty!

Because people aren't born criminals. Cause and effect works throughout society. These monsters didn't make themselves, everyone had a part in it.

I didn't have a part in it.

I refer to the butterfly effect

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