Q. wrote:scoob wrote:Q. wrote:Regarding cost to taxpayer, it's been demonstrated that the overall cost of being on death row exceeds the cost of that that same person being sentenced to life without parole. The substantial cost increase cannot even be justified as the deterrence aspect is completely speculative.
Here is a brilliant paper examining the situation in Colorado:
http://www.law.du.edu/documents/criminal-law-review/issues/v03-1/Cost-of-Death-Penalty.pdf
Is that only in the USA?
What is the difference say in Indonesia or Thailand?
Capital cases in Western countries involve a long and complex judicial process in an attempt to minimise the chance of murdering someone who is innocent.
Not sure what the difference in cost is for developing nations, but I get the feeling the appeals process is a pretty short one.
There is your answer - based the appeal system on the developing nations (ie minimal) - but only apply the death penalty to those who are 100% clearly guilty.