Hansen 1

Janessa A. Hansen

College Comp II

Persuasive Paper

February 13th, 2009

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

spend millions of dollars on each individual otherwise.

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.
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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

when administered intravenously. It can reach effective clinical concentrations in the

brain within 30 second, according to an Amnesty International report.” For executions, a

lethal dose of as much as 5 grams of sodium thiopental may be administered. It is

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

second drug is administered. A paralyzing agent such as pancuronium bromide is used as

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,

possibly even billions, of dollars within the next ten years!

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,
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Texas leads the nation in the number of executions since the death penalty was reinstated

in 1976. Executions in Texas are scheduled at almost a regular basis of approximately

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>.
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“Death Row Facts.” Texas Department of Criminal Justice. 2009. 1-4. Feb 2009.

<http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/drowfacts.htm>.