Nightingale

Well, you have the OPTION of moving to that cheaper part of the country and taking your assets with you, so those Cali assets certainly count towards your richness. If it weren't desirable to live in Cali, there wouldn't be the demand to drive prices up. No. If I moved elsewhere, I wouldn't be making as much money either, if I stayed in a position similar to the one I'm in now.

It really depends on where you live. In areas where the cost of living is higher, people's salaries don't go as far. For what I'm paying in a mortgage on a two bedroom condo here in Cali, I could buy a really nice house in another part of the country.

Good idea. If they're old enough to be drafted, they're old enough to buy a beer.

Laws vary by state, and lawyers can't give you advice unless they're licensed in your state.

Have you tried marriage counseling?

There have been many documented cases where people have confessed for various reasons (pressure, not understanding proceedings, mental illness, notoriety, etc...) and have been found to be innocent later on.

Mary Lou Retton: First American gymnast to win gold in gymnastics.

Done. Cute kid.

You're right, partially because there's only one system to appeal in. Federal system is federal law and constitutional law. State system is state law. A state defendant can file appeals in both, for different reasons.

37 out of the 38 states that have capital punishment also have mandatory appeals, whether the defendant wants to or not. Regarding the range, I don't know off the top of my head and will have to do some research for you.

This has always stated as a simple fact, but what is the standard deviation on it? This particular guy with the ongoing trouble he causes, could well be far more expensive to house. And is the comparison simple napkin math (cost per year X life expectancy), or does it include the medical costs of other inmates and other indirect costs that this one might harm? Since the death penalty is enforced so sporadically and inconsistently, it's difficult to make an argument that prisoners on death row are far different from prisoners convicted of first degree murder who are not on death row. Here's a bit of the breakdown in cost for the death penalty: Indiana’s Criminal Law Commission concluded that the cost of the death penalty is 38% greater than the total cost of life without parole. Similar studies in North Carolina and California found the cost of administering a sentence of death is $1 to $2 million more than a sentence of life in prison. The cost of the death penalty can be separated into four categories: startup cost, pretrial cost, trial cost, and post-conviction cost. Training judges and attorneys to handle death penalty cases is very expensive to taxpayers. New York reinstated the death penalty and allocated over $5.5 million to training programs in 1995. Legal costs are high, and counsel on both sides of a capital case require more time to prepare their arguments because the law pertaining to capital cases is typically more complex and the trial procedures more intricate. Moreover, because establishing mitigating and aggravating circumstances requires evidence, capital trials demand more attention from law enforcement, attorneys, and judges examining the facts of the case. The fees for the defense are generally picked up by the taxpayers, as most people facing a murder charge cannot afford an attorney. Then, you have to consider length of the trial and the jury selection. Jury selection in death penalty cases is, among other things, more complicated, time consuming, and costly than for non-capital trials. Capital trials on average last 5.3 times longer than non-capital trials and are more costly throughout the entire process, so finding jurors that are both able to serve for that length and able to make an impartial decision about life or death is difficult, time consuming, and costly. A death penalty trial has two phases, the trial phase and sentencing phase. In North Carolina, the average cost of a bifurcated trial is $84,000 compared to the $17,000 cost of a non-capital first degree murder trial. And then there's the cost of appeals... What is often not mentioned is that states can pay out millions of dollars in wrongful conviction suits if the defendant is eventually exonerated. One of the less mentioned costs of the death penalty is the high amounts awarded to plaintiffs in wrongful conviction settlements. In 2003, lawyers representing the city of Chicago said a $2.2 million dollar settlement in a wrongful conviction settlement was a “good deal for the city.” Wrongful convictions in capital trials result in higher settlements than wrongful convictions in non-capital cases. Most states hold death row prisoners in separate facility for various reasons such as control and ease of observation. It also saves states the cost of purchasing execution equipment for all state prisons. However, building such facilities is expensive. The last one proposed in California would have cost taxpayers $220 million dollars. Also, death row inmates are generally housed in separate rooms and are more heavily guarded, since such prisoners have nothing to lose by inciting violence or attempting escape. Then, there's things like dealing with crowd control during an execution. Marin County, California budgeted $130,000 for crowd control in the 1990 execution of Robert Alton Harris. Sources (compiled in a paper by Mark Leeman, 2004): Smith, Mike. Associated Press. Commission Approves Death Penalty Statute. Nov. 13 2001. Kozinski, Alex and Gallagher, Sean. Case Western Law Review. Canary Lecture: Death: The Ultimate Run-On Sentence. 46 Case W. Res. 1. Fall 95. The Indianapolis Star Online. Indystar.com Capital Punishment in Indiana. http://www.indystar.com/library/factfiles/crime/capital_punishment/deathrow.html. Indiana Public Defenders Council Online. Indiana Death Penalty Facts http://www.in.gov/pdc/general/dpfacts.pdf. Indiana Supreme Court; Division of State Court Administration. Annual Report of the Indiana Public Defenders Commission. 2002-2003. Whitaker, Barbara. The New York Times. National Briefing West: California Governor Wants New Death Row. Brooks, Justin and Erickson, Jeanne Huey. Thomas M. Cooley Law Review. Death penalty Symposium: The Dire Wolf Collects His Due While the Boys Sit by the Fire. Galbraith, Matthew S. South Bend Tribune. Indiana’s Other Lottery. October 23, 2001 Capital Punishment, 2002. Bureau of Justice Statistics: Bulletin. US Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. Nov 2003 Testimony of Richard C. Dieter, Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center. Before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Criminal Justice. Mar 27, 2003 Heline, Marti Goodland. South Bend Tribune. Delay Hikes Cost for Stroud Trial. Heline, Marti Goodand. “$725,000 tag on high-profile murder trial.” South Bend Tribune. Dec. 23 2002. New York State Defender’s Ass’n, INC. Capital Losses: The Price of the Death Penalty for New York State, Liebman, James S. The Overproduction of Death. The Columbia Law Review. Dec. 2000. Spielman, Fran. Former Death Row Inmate to Get $2.2 Million. Chicago Tribune. Dec. 16, 2003. Walsh, Thomas J. Cleveland State Law Review. Cleveland State University. On the Abolition of Man: A Discussion of the Moral and Legal Issues Surrounding the Death Penalty.

Why? So the tax payer can support this piece of shit the rest of his natural life? What Bill said. In the vast majority of cases, execution is far more expensive than life in prison, particularly when one takes into account the dual phase trials required in capital punishment cases.

There's a difference between what kind of retribution is deserved and what kind best serves society. It's easy to look at individual cases and say "this guy deserves to fry!", but when you look at the system as a whole, it's corrupt, fallible, inconsistent, and expensive. Throw them in jail and lose the key.

LOL... I wonder what's written about me in that "instructors only" logbook. AND I jumped with the instructor who taught my AFF course (but I requested her, so I don't know if that counts).

My co-worker, who apparently saw the CNN headline "Russia invades Georgia!" But didn't bother to actually read the article, just ran through the office yelling about Russia invading the southern US. Co-worker: Russia just invaded the south! They're in Georgia! Me: you mean they just invaded the country of Georgia, between Russia and Turkey, right? Co-worker: Don't be an idiot. Georgia's a state. Me (having flashbacks to Miss Teen South Carolina and considering purchasing a map for him): Okay. Whatever. Co-worker (running on his way): Russia's invaded the south! Wow.

Down two pounds this week.

Trap her and the kittens and take them into the vet for bloodwork to make sure they're not a threat to your kitties, and then bring them in until you can find them a home.

Found Minnesota, so I've got them all except New Mexico.

X South Dakota D X Washington D X Idaho D X Wyoming D X Utah D X Oklahoma, X Arizona These were in my pocket. I'm just missing Minnesota and New Mexico (which are probably in with my laundry quarters at home). PM me?

Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup Has anyone else done this before? This is my first year, and I'm excited! I'm obviously going to the California Cleanup, but I'm curious to know other people's experiences. California Coastal Cleanup

I don't usually drink much at all, but now that I've got two cases of Lang, I'm rationing myself to one per night.

Check your forms option, and remove "auto-fill".

Our Team Coordinator from AWLA just sent me an update: We're in the top 25 fundraising teams so far!!!

One, and I honestly wasn't speeding. The officer clocked the speed of a huge silver pickup that was coming the other way, but gave me the ticket. I could've fought it for other reasons, but decided to just go to traffic school and be done with it.

I like my Garmin. I have one that doesn't do text to speech, and I think I'm going to sell it and get the 350 that I recommended to Gia.