The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

POWERPOINTS

HOW TO AVOID BORING US ALL TO DEATH

• I am writing down possibly everything I can say about this slide resulting in me reading all of it out loud, because I must think no one in the class can read it for themselves. Also, this way I don’t have to think about what I need to say, and I don’t have to make any eye contact.

• Since I’m writing about everything, I need to use a really tiny font to cram everything into this slide.

• I think it’s a waste to use any kind of meaningful images or charts because it takes too much time to search for or create them. However, I might add a picture so it looks like I tried. I’ll just stick it anywhere. (Maybe I’ll get extra points for the puppy.)

• I think if I use a really fancy font or a really colorful font it will seem like I put more effort into this than I really did. I might use a color that is too hard to read.

• But I don’t care if no one can actually read it. That way, they won’t notice

• that I just copied and pasted stuff from the Internet. (Why is there

• An extra bullet?? Why is “An” capitalized? Oh, well.)• Could this possibly get more lame?

BORING, GENERIC TITLETHAT IS POSITIONED

WEIRDLY

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS?

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS?

• 70% more than the cost of a comparable non-death penalty case

• 48% more than the average cost of trials in which prosecutors seek life imprisonment

• cost 3 times more than non-death penalty cases

THE COST OF DEATH VS. LIFE

WHAT YOU WOULD SAY:

Recent studies on the costs of death row show that it is far costlier than a life sentence.According to the Kansas Legislative Post, a 2003 legislative audit in Kansas found that the estimated cost of a death penalty case was 70% more than the cost of a comparable non-death penalty case. Death penalty case costs were counted through to execution (median cost $1.26 million). Non-death penalty case costs were counted through to the end of incarceration (median cost $740,000).The Urban Institute reported that in Tennessee, death penalty trials cost an average of 48% more than the average cost of trials in which prosecutors seek life imprisonment.In Maryland death penalty cases cost 3 times more than non-death penalty cases, or $3 million for a single case.In California in 2008, the system costs $137 million per year; it would cost $11.5 million for a system without the death penalty.