Which is more Cost Effective, Capital Punishment or Life in Prison?

Keeping a person in prison for life costs less than actually putting the person to death. The death penalty comes with automatic appeals, etc that end up costing more than the person living out his/her natural life in prison.

Sad, but true.

http://www.balancedpolitics.org/death_penalty.htm
http://www.sunfyre.com/deathpenalty.html
http://www.deathpenalty.org/index.php?pid=cost

I'm kinda torn here...so
It's all a matter of appeals that makes capital punishment costly right?
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by neophyte on November 12th, 2009
Mostly. It costs more to try a death penalty case, too. The requirements are higher, and death qualified attorneys are necessary. You can't be defended by any Joe Schmoe. You have to have someone with a certain level of experience and expertise in trying death penalty cases. It is the appeals process that is due process of law guaranteed to protect the rights of the accused by our Constitution. Even so, we still execute the innocent.
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by AntigoneRising on November 12th, 2009
No, not true. Execution may cost more up front but over time and considering the whole of the prison system, it actually ends up costing more for life without parole(LWOP)murderers. See http://www.prodeathpenalty.com/dp.html for a complete treatment on the subject of the death penalty.
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by twilson1949 on September 26th, 2011

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