I just came across a very well written article representing the most infuriating piece of bootstrapping I've ever read. "Bootstrapping," for those of you unfamiliar with the term means using your own invented argument to prove your point. It's a disguised form of circular reasoning. It is intellectually dishonest, and demonstrably fallacious.
I refer to the article, "In hard times, executions become question of cost," by Deborah Hastings, an AP writer. (See:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090307/ap_on_re_us/expensive_to_execute_2)
The gist of Ms. Hastings's article is that it has become too expensive to execute murderers, so there is a move afoot to scrap the death penalty in favor of less expensive life imprisonment.
"....it is cheaper to imprison killers for life than to execute them, according to a series of recent surveys. Tens of millions of dollars cheaper...." "So an increasing number of (States) are considering abolishing capital punishment in favor of life imprisonment, not on principle but out of financial necessity."
"It's 10 times more expensive to kill them than to keep them alive," - Donald McCartin, a former California jurist known as "The Hanging Judge of Orange County"
Well, very interesting. What we have here is the result of more than 50 years of steady campaigning against the death penalty by bleeding heart liberals. They would rather see any number of innocent victims murdered than see the State execute even one of their heinous pet criminals. They have funded lobbying efforts, vetted judicial candidates, and paid for countless appeals of convicted murders. They have demonstrated, held midnight vigils, and flooded the media with the sad stories of those poor "victims of society" on death row. In short, their efforts have resulted in a death penalty process that has become absurdly slow and expensive. Now they get to reap the harvest from the seeds they've sown. They no longer need to argue against the death penalty on supposed moral grounds. Due to their own efforts, they can argue against it on economic grounds.
Oh, woe is us! We are bamboozled. They have maneuvered us into a position where what once was nothing more that a quick drop to the end of a rope, or a bullet in the head, has become more expensive than a life of luxury. I know that I could live handsomely on an amount equal to 10 times the cost of keeping me in prison. Very handsomely indeed!
The truth is that a bullet to the head is as quick and painless a death as anyone could hope for. The cost would be about 25¢. If the fabricated "conscience" of society requires an appeal, one could be had within 6 months at a minimum of expense. That should be it. Nothing more. That would be eminently reasonable and just. There simply is no rational excuse for keeping inmates locked up for the rest of their lives at public expense. I don't want to pay for that. Do you?
This wouldn't be happening if those liberal bleeding hearts came around knocking on doors asking for voluntary contributions to support the poor suffering murders on death row. You wouldn't give them your money. But they have the government taking your money by force, then spending it on those inmates. That's the problem, and it should be stopped.