Life in Prison vs Death Penalty: A Cost Analysis

To choose between life in prison or death should be an easy decision for a court judging a murderer of many, however this is not the case. Although simple at a first glance, there are many outlying factors that can influence one’s decision between life and death. When someone is sentenced to the death penalty a large amount of taxpayer’s money is used to pay for the execution. According to a study at Seattle University, “Washington has carried out five executions since reinstatement, implying a cost of $24 million per execution.” ( www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-deathpenalty, in the Washington section ) This amount of money used to fund an execution can be lessened by giving a convict life in prison. Those sentenced to life in prison with no parole are given the worst living conditions with no chance of seeing the outside world beyond the prison walls due to them being labeled as dead men

Family and friends of the victims may have to deal with the loss of a loved one and would want a sense of justice to be enforced. The end decision can give the family members some relief as well as a yearning for the criminal to suffer. Each sentence can bring the families peace of mind, however they each serve different roles in doing so. One family may want the criminal to experience a similar death that their loved one had received. The death penalty would fit this situation best since the family can watch as the criminal is executed if they choose to do so. There is then the situation where the family wants the criminal to suffer for the rest of their life. The perfect sentence for this is life in jail since the criminal will be stuck surrounded by maximum security for the rest of their life. Knowing that the criminal will be unale to cause harm to anyone else as well making sure they will suffer in prison will provide these families with the justice they feel is