Re: AltInst: An Alternative to the Death Penalty

Why make the death penalty controversy so complicated? I'm sure those who
support it out-of-hand, as well as those who oppose it because of the
possibility of DNA-proved innocence, would agree to the "treadmill at hard
labor" sentence.

Merely equip Death Row with one treadmill for each prisoner, and connect all
of them, with individual meters, into the electric grid. Should an inmate
live out his life sentence in prison, the family of his victim would be paid
for the kilowatt-hours he generated, at a generous $/kWhr. Should DNA
evidence prove the felon innocent some years down the road, he would be
freed, and get a rebate at an even more generous $/kWhr rate.

Here in California, where prisons abound, we would all benefit from this
concept, called PAYING YOUR DEBT TO SOCIETY IN KILOWATT-HOURS.

D. Clarence Anderson

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Received on Wed May 2 00:49:59 2001