The cost of the Death Penalty vs. Life Without Parole.

I used to support the death penalty 100%, no question asked.  That was, until I learned how untrustworthy the government and the courts are.  Our government, lies, cheats, steals, spits on the Constitution, and does all kinds of underhanded crap daily.  Do you think our courts and police are any different?  There have been a LOT of people put to death that were innocent and a helluva lot more (hundreds) who were luckily exonerated while on Death Row. 

Now, I still DO support the DP, but only in the most heinous of crimes, especially involving children and where there is undoubted and corroborated evidence that comes from multiple sources like; DNA, eyewitnesses, a corpse, murder weapon, etc.  In my opinion, if you're going to send a man to his death you better be 100% certain, and way beyond a "reasonable doubt".  If not, I say sentence him to life without parole.

Everyone complains about the cost of keeping someone imprisoned for life.  Do you realize that it has cost the taxpayers of this Commonwealth over $350 Million dollars in regards to the 185 currently on Death Row?  That's around $1.9 Million each.

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/node/5988

The average cost per year to keep someone in prison in PA is $42,400.  If you put someone away for 50 years (pretty much their entire natural life), it costs, $2.1 Million dollars.

http://www.vera.org/files/price-of-prisons-pennsylvania-fact-sheet.pdf

So, in reality, it really it only costs around $200,000 more over a period of FIFTY years. 

"But, Bluesman, a person doesn't stay on Death Row for 50 years in PA".

Well...  The past person executed in PA was Gary Heidnik in 1999 — and only because he bowed to it by waiving his appeals.  Who knows how long he would have been on Death Row had he kept appealing.  Prior to that, the last executions in PA were in 1995 when Tom Ridge signed three Death Warrants.  That was 20 years ago…

The last one before that?  Elmo Smith In 1962, 53 years ago.

SOURCE:  http://articles.mcall.com/2011-07-23/news/mc-pennsylvania-death-row-costs-20110723_1_death-row-death-penalty-death-penalty-opponents

So, my point is, it cost really doesn't cost that much more (around $4000 per year) to keep someone incarcerated for their entire natural life, than it does to execute them) If that person were found to be innocent sometime during that period, isn't that worth $4K a year?  Given the amount of people on Death Row who have been exonerated in PA, (11 in the last 21 years), which is more people than have actually been executed in PA since 1959, I say, "you're damn right it is".

SOURCE:  http://www.innocenceproject.org/news/state.php?state=pa

SOURCE:  http://deathpenaltyusa.org/usa1/state/pennsylvania4.htm