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Student Name
College Comp II
Persuasive Paper
Lack of Punishment
In California, it accounts for $63.3 million annually on the books but only
accommodates 670 people currently. Maryland has singled out only five individuals
since 1978 and spent at least $37.2 million on each of them. New Jersey has spent over
$253 million since 1983 on a service that they have never even once provided. In Kansas
it cost $1.26 million per person walked through the process. There is a more effective,
less expensive way for these states to utilize the law and it is no more expensive than a
$86.06 shot in the arm, because the solution for all these states is a $86.08 shot in the
arm.
Every state has to make budget cuts. Residents who qualify for the shot should
not even be given the opportunity to appeal it. They have made their choices and now,
since they are a liability to the state, if the state decides they qualify there should be no
more dispute. The shot only costs $86.08 which is a huge budget saver to the states who
For residents who complain about the process taking too long, why make them
wait any longer for the money saving shot once they qualify? States like New Jersey who
are not even utilizing the process that they have spent $253 million on should definitely
use this.
Hansen 2
The shot it also known as lethal injection which is used in 34 states, out of the 38
who use the death penalty, to put inmates to death on death row as capital punishment for
capital offences. The injection consists of an anesthetic, sodium thiopental, which puts
the inmate into a deep sleep. According to Kevin Bonsor’s article entitled “How Lethal
Injection Works,” sodium thiopental “is a barbiturate that induces general anesthesia
believed by some that once the anesthetic has been administered, the inmate does not feel
anything. A saline solution is then used to flush out the intravenous lines before the
a muscle relaxant. This drug “is given in a dose that stops breathing by paralyzing the
diaphragm and lungs.” The drug takes effect in three to five minutes after injection.
Another saline solution is then used to flush out the intravenous line again. Some states,
but not all, top off the lethal injection cocktail with a toxic agent, such as potassium
chloride. A lethal dose is given in order to interrupt the electrical signals essential to
heart functions which induces cardiac arrest. It only takes a minute or two after the drug
is induced for the physicians to pronounce death. Thirty minutes from cell to body bag.
Thirty minutes for a $86.08 shot that has the potential to save the government millions,
It is ridiculous that the government should continue to spend millions and millions
(and millions and millions) of dollars each year on prisoners, especially those who
qualify for capital punishment. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice,
Name 3
Texas leads the nation in the number of executions since the death penalty was reinstated
once a week. Even if this schedule were to be picked up by the 37 other states who
accept the death penalty, most death rows should clear up in approximately ten years.
There will most likely be more offenders in the mean time, but image how much money
can be saved over the next ten years by giving even 50 prisoners in 34 states a $86.08
shot every year instead of spending millions of dollars on taking care of them. Just in a
state like New Jersey, that means approximately $150,000 compared to approximately
$8,500,000. Looks like a no brainer on paper. Also, the average American should not
have to pay for the care of these prisoners any more than they should have to pay for
people who are too lazy to get a job. Prisoners should have to work in prison to pay for
their own food and housing. They should not be given any more than they have worked
for. At the very least, prisoners on death row should have to work to pay for their daily
life needs and save up a little, say $86.08, for a little on-the-side investment.
Works Cited
“Costs of Death Penalty.” Death Penalty Information Center. 2008. 1-5. Feb 2009.
<http://www.wsba.org/lawyers/groups/committeeonpublicdefence.htm>.
Hansen 4
“Death Row Facts.” Texas Department of Criminal Justice. 2009. 1-4. Feb 2009.
<http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/drowfacts.htm>.