That doesn't address situations in which innocent people have pleaded guilty to lesser crimes to avoid jail time and huge legal and court fees. Recovery of such fees is a pipe dream, according to the authors. Replacing capital punishment with life sentences without parole. Since 1900, at least 23 innocent people have been executed, Huff said, and more innocent people have been spared, sometimes hours before their scheduled execution. Surveys have shown that 85 percent of Americans favor capital punishment.
Life imprisonment is actually a much less costly alternative and eliminates the chance of a mistake.
If you lock someone up for life, you take him off the streets, but you can later release him and compensate him if you discover that you made an error.