Why the State should NOT execute Amy Bishop

Yeah… she’s a crazy ass bitch. No question about it.

But, do YOU want to pay out the nose for all the numerous and extensive mandatory appeals that accompany the death penalty?

Here’s an excerpt from today’s (Thursday, 18 February 2010) front-page Huntsville Times article by Staff Writer Patricia McCarter: “To receive a court-appointed attorney, a defendant must file an afadavit of substantial hardship, showing that she cannot afford to pay for her own attorney, which in a capital murder case, could cost hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.”

Numerous examples of research validating and verifying those remarks exist from the U.S. Department of Justice, whose own research has demonstrated the same. Here’s an abstract (summary) of one such research paper: “Constitutional safeguards, both procedural and substantive, have been required by the U.S. Supreme Court to ensure a fair process for the defendant. These include protections to ensure due process, effective counsel, a fair and impartial jury, and proportionality of the punishment. Limited plea bargaining, lengthy pretrial motions, extensive investigations, increased use of expert witnesses, voir dire, peremptertory [sic] challenges, and extensive trial and appeal processes add significantly to the cost of the death penalty system. Thus, advocates of capital punishment who base their arguments on cost-effectiveness are in error. A constitutional death penalty system and execution process costs more than does life imprisonment...”

Essentially, it is exceedingly cheaper to incarcerate a prisoner for the remainder of their natural life, feed and care for any medical needs, than it is to prosecute them if they are sentenced to death.

Now think about it.

That crazy bitch has already caused enough trouble as it is. Do you REALLY want to foot the phenomenal bill for her defense… just to put your money into the already-deep pockets of attorneys?

Or, would you prefer a “here’s your sign” bumper sticker that reads, “I paid for Amy Bishop’s Death Sentence Appeals“?