I'm for whatever is more cost efficient. If it is cheaper to fill em up with chemicals, go for it. I often hear that it is not, due to appeals processes and what not it winds up being more expensive than LwP. But if life in prison is more cost efficient, throw em up forever.
Hell if we just took the scumbags who deserve it out back and put a bullet in their head I would be super pro death penalty. Simple and cheap.
Thats the kind im aiming for. I get the appeals process being necessary, but most people on Death Row chill there for years, and sometimes decades waiting for the day to come for little/no good reason.
The other thing we should do is what our jail here adopted. Get rid of the ball court, and any other big activities in the area. Turn it into a giant garden and make these people provide for themselves. Our regular jail did it here (offsite but well protected) and the extra guard cost/the cost of seeds ended up being paid for EASILY from the fact that almost 40% of the stuff grown ended up being sold (and that includes paying the assholes who are lucky enough to chill at the farmers market as "work") and they made a grip of profit.
We are lucky here in the fact one of the main rich mother fuckers around "rented" his land out to the city and he made a fucking fistful of cash from ti also.
Glad you're back.
ETA: They also learned a lot about work, life, and how gardening can be great for people who just want extra time out. They "earned" extra hours to work on the field for good behavior, and a study was done that showed off how many people did their shit inside just so they can get outside. Hell i spend 2 weeks in twice, and i can tell you when i was allowed to work, my breaks were outside, rain or shine, cold and hot as a mother fucker (it was july) Jail is like mushrooms, everyone should be convinced to try it once just to help them appreciate the little things. You like reading books? Your local jail has 2800 bibles, 2000 alcoholism books, and the rest are paid for by the people with enough money to buy from the publisher and pay the cost to bring it in. Those books are usually a gospel novel, also.