Dear Future President,

Did you know it costs less to keep a person in prison for a lifelong sentence rather than give them the death penalty? Why are we wasting money just to kill people who could have otherwise lived for cheaper? I realize that the legality of the death penalty is currently in the state’s hands, but when you’re dealing with loss of human life I feel as though the national government should take a closer look.

Life is precious, even the lives of criminals are precious. But I know that simply saying life is precious won’t change your mind. People don’t see their human dignity. Everyone sees the prisoners on death-row as their crimes. So, if the mere fact that human life is being lost won’t change your mind, I implore you at least consider the money behind it all.

Research has shown that you can save $1,028,700 by keeping a prisoner for a lifelong sentence instead of putting them on death row. That money could be going to education or city expansion, but instead it is being spent on ending a life. So if everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, why do we still practice the death penalty.

Citations

Yakima, Wash. "What Costs More the Death Penalty or Life in Prison?" - NBC Right Now/KNDO/KNDU Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA |. N.p., 21 Sept. 2011. Web. 28 Oct. 2016.