Dollars and sense

Caught part of the Pat White show on WOWO driving home yesterday afternoon. They were talking about the Simon Rios case, and a point was brought up that I raised in an editorial this week: Should both Allen County and Delaware County prosecutors seek the death penalty for him, as a hedge against a jury in either jurisdiction deciding it only wanted to go as high as life without parole? An attorney named Rob called in and said this (I paraphrase):

If we go for the death penalty, Allen County will have enormous expenses -- the trial, probably moving and housing a jury from another county, endless appeals. But if we offer him life without parole as a plea bargain, he'd probably take it to avoid the death penalty. It would all be over in a matter of weeks. Then we could let Delaware County worry about whether to go through the expense and bother of a death-penalty case. If it does, fine. If not, he'll still be put away for life.

I hate to say it, but, given where we are on capital punishment these days, it's hard to argue with him on a purely what's-good-for-the-taxpayers basis. But there's also the what's-necessary-for-justice consideration. That can't be reduced to dollars and cents.

Even if he gets the death penalty, he'll be on death row -- at enormous expense -- for around 15 years. It has to be said that, during that time, Alejandra Gutierrez and Rios' three daughters could have started high school, gone to proms, fallen in love and had their hearts broken, agonized over college choices, picked majors, begun careers, gotten married and had children of their own.

Screw the cost.