Why does it cost more to execute death row inmates, than to feed, clothe and house them for life?

The death penalty is much more expensive than its closest alternative, which is life imprisonment with no parole. Capital trials are longer and more expensive at every step than other murder trials. Pre-trial motions, expert witness investigations, jury selection, and the necessity for two trials--one on guilt and one on sentencing--make capital cases extremely costly, even before the appeals process begins. Guilty pleas are almost unheard of when the punishment is death. In addition, many of these trials result in a life sentence rather than the death penalty, so the state pays the cost of life imprisonment on top of the expensive trial.

It does cost a lot more, for the reasons stated by Socrates, plus the fact that the inmates usually require special accomodations that non-death row inmates do, such as increased security, single-person cells, etc. But the real costs come w/all the appeals, etc. throughout many years.

BTW, very few cases go to death penalty... I think it's less than 1% of all murders.

Because the death penalty costs human lives. No money can cover that.

And then, of course, there is what Socrates says.

Tiff is right. It doesn't. But they won't just go ahead and get it over with right away. With all the legal b.s. that the attorney pull out to try to delay things... that's where the money/costs rise so much.

If found guilty I say get it done. Give the attorneys one month to do what they have to do. Obviously, the person was found guilty already. I don't understand why we have to keep proving it over and over.

The actual sentence does not.

But... supreme Court requires automatically granted appeal of sentence and is usually paid by state.

B/c of the irrationality that's crept into the justice system.

(I don't really buy that popular claim about the costs)

Because they are allowed years of appeals, even though the murder victim was never given the chance to appeal.

It's part of the process of fair representation. Due process of law...

Two words: defense attorneys

what Socrates said