> Under the terms of his manslaughter plea, Walker will be eligible for parole in 21 years, when he is in his mid 80’s. According to Google, it costs an average of about $106,000 per year to incarcerate an inmate in prison in California. Multiply that by 21 years, and the pricetag for keeping Walker locked up for the next two decades exceeds 2 million dollars.
While low for US standards, 21 years for murder may fall short of justice, but does not seem unreasonable, especially given how old the perpetrator will be when he is merely eligible for parole. Compounded with the evidence not being strong enough to guarantee conviction, I really cannot fault the criminal-justice system in this case. Sure, we can say "we know he's guilty, he deserves a worse punishment", but the legal system cannot work this way.
I also can't agree to the calculus that we're better off using the death penalty because it is cheaper (supposedly it is actually more expensive, because of extra legal procedures, but let's say it was indeed cheaper). Fundamental rights, and the limits of government power, should not be decided based on economics. Doing so would be extremely short-sighted.
And governments are already frighteningly powerful. While I believe the death penalty is justified for some crimes, I'd rather see justice fall short, and not give the government the power to make such irreversible decisions.
While low for US standards, 21 years for murder may fall short of justice, but does not seem unreasonable, especially given how old the perpetrator will be when he is merely eligible for parole. Compounded with the evidence not being strong enough to guarantee conviction, I really cannot fault the criminal-justice system in this case. Sure, we can say "we know he's guilty, he deserves a worse punishment", but the legal system cannot work this way.
I also can't agree to the calculus that we're better off using the death penalty because it is cheaper (supposedly it is actually more expensive, because of extra legal procedures, but let's say it was indeed cheaper). Fundamental rights, and the limits of government power, should not be decided based on economics. Doing so would be extremely short-sighted.
And governments are already frighteningly powerful. While I believe the death penalty is justified for some crimes, I'd rather see justice fall short, and not give the government the power to make such irreversible decisions.