To my understanding the reason that its so expensive to kill someone is because before they can do anything they have go through trial after trial. As far as I can tell this is to prove the person is guilty and deserving of death. This makes no sense to me because there are some things you should be killed for doing and if your guilty enough to be put away for life your guilty enough to die. Besides in our time the death penality isnt to bad. In times before us it was something to fear because you would be killed in a way to ensure the utmost agony for the most amount of time. I dont know about anyone else but I personally think the death penality is a blessing in disguise. Think about it. Given the choice between death and spending the rest of my life in a prison with no hope of reprieve I would take death every single time. Now Im not suicidal but I could not deal with that kind of stagnation. Esp. with the burden of knowing that it was never going to end.
One last thing Id like to comment on is that I agree with Sirus on the subject of life being 20 years. Courts need to say what they mean and mean what they say.

I really can't understand why everyone talks about people's deaths like about buying a pack of ciggarettes next street... and it seems nobody even had the smallest care what will heppen to those who are sentenced.
I dun want to go off-topic but I know there are many people who kill, rape, etc... OK, so they do thing that are very evil. 1. this does not really mean they are extreemely evil people theirselves. One could kill someone out of one moment depending on their state of mind thow its true they may eventually want to do it again. 2. What if instead of using the policy of "you hit us, we hit you" we could stop giving people reasons to kill each other. It is next to impossible now because of the way the world is now but it could be tried. I am not saying they should be left to do what they want but there should be a ballance that doesn't simply put one group behind bars and another outside because it is simply unfair. And I'm mostly saying this because I believe in good people who only once do a stupid thing out of something, are sorry, but there's noone to really understand them (I dont know if I would agree with freeing the ones who only think of killing and robbing all the time and can't wait to do it. Only in case they can be kept under surveillance and someone can make sure they won't do that). Maybe it's true there is hardly another way, but if there isn't its because nobody seems to have tried to find it hard enough. Sorry if I went off-topic or accidentally included any religious debates.
Back on-topic, I agree with turning the life sentence into a 20-year sentence and also agree with the removing of the death penality. Again, I disagree with letting criminals do what they want but I also disagree with locking them behing bars mindlesly just to "impress" others to not do it like I heard the main reason they do it is.

Fair, what i dont think is fair is that a 14 year old girl is killed, her family is destroyed, and fear is placed in amongst the people who knew her and her killer is given a life sentence, BUT is allowed out on parole and is now only having to serve 5 years of his sentence DUE to good behavior. THAT is unfair. Its unfair a girls life is ended whilst her killer is able to leagally be allowed back out of prison to live his life. See i beleive you take a life out of Spite you should lose yours.

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Firstly, if the killer wouldn't want to do it again, what use is sending him in prison? What use is it doubling the damage done by something once? I know how that feeling is! I never had any reason to go through it or gone through it but I know how its like. But even if her family is destroyed, this must not be used as an excuse to give anyone rights to do what they want with the killer's life. Basically, what I could say is that instead of simplt locking people who make mistakes up, everyone should try more to find a way to convince crmiminaals to change and a way to keep them in freedom but under control so they could never successfully do anything bad to anyone.

Sirus and Mircea. I would like to say you both have valid points. Mircea I think your view on the people of the world is wonderful but the system you were talking about wouldnt work. As it is too many people take advantage of the legal system. Hell there are people who brag about being in prison. Like its something to be proud of. Making it more leniant would just cause problems. As for your points Sirus. I happen to agree with most of what you said but I also realize things arent always that simple. I believe we should look at the circumstances as well as the actual crime. This isnt to say people should get off everytome just because a situation is stressful. But all angles should be considered.