Death Penalty Options

[Mommy]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071213/ap_on_...alty_new_jersey

A special state commission found in January that the death penalty was a more expensive sentence than life in prison, hasn't deterred murder and risks killing an innocent person.

Good. These are the things I have been saying all along. I hate when people use the argument that the death penalty saves tax dollars. NO IT DOESN'T. It costs more to put someone to death because of the way our government works. I hate the death penalty. I know some people deserve to die (like people who harm children), but I dont think its our place to do it. I want people to sit in prison and rot.

[Mommy]

Does it really need to say why its more expensive... seems like its common knowledge that the appeals process is what drives the cost up. I dont know why they article would have to say that. People have been talking about this for years. The article (in my opinion) is saying that New Jersey lawmakers were able to PROVE that it was more expensive to kill people, putting rumors to rest.

[Oasis]

Does it really need to say why its more expensive

Uh, yeah.

If you're going to write an article and make a statistical claim, you better back it up with some factual evidence or reasoning to support that claim. Otherwise you aren't a journalist, you're Impala.

You can appeal any ruling, not just crimes that land you on death row. So what exactly does the death penalty have to do with anything? The problem lies with the appeals process. The only thing relevant about the death penalty is that inmates on death row happen to file more appeals than inmates serving life terms.

Typical politician idiocy. Try to save money by fixing the entirely wrong problem

[Mommy]

Uh, yeah.

If you're going to write an article and make a statistical claim, you better back it up with some factual evidence or reasoning to support that claim. Otherwise you aren't a journalist, you're Impala.

The article isnt making a claim. They are just giving the news. The news includes the reasons why the New Jersey lawmakers decided to get rid of the death penalty. Its an AP article, not a debate on how stupid our court system is. Wire stories arent going to go into a lot of detail. They expect that readers can do research. If you didnt know why it would cost more to put someone to death, wouldnt that be something you look up? I don't think you know how journalism works. Quick stories like this are facts of the story only, not the surrounding issues behind them. They write what they have.