[eznzt]

Locking them away might sound better, but remember the state has to pay for them until they die, which really sucks.

[kevinmchugh]

It's a good thing the extra rigor applied to death penalty usage in the US causes it to be more expensive than life imprisonment. Giving the state a fiscal incentive to execute would be heinous.

[carschno]

Weighing economic costs against a human's right to live looks like a very strong indicator for a barbaric society to me. Although I'm aware that this is done (implicitly) in probably all societies to some degree.

[matwood]

What really sucks is killing someone that we find out later was not guilty. One of the many problems with the death penalty is that it's permanent.

[sokoloff]

Locking someone away wrongly for a year or twenty years is also permanent in that they can’t get that life/time back, even if they’re still alive when found not guilty. It’s just permanent and slightly smaller, but still a horrific theft IMO.

[matwood]

Agreed. I hope nothing in my original comment makes anyone think otherwise.

[sokoloff]

Not at all; I do think some people imagine "life without parole" is somehow safer or lower-risk than the death penalty.