Julie Zimmerman of Topsham argues in her letter “Executions have no place in the U.S.,” (Oct. 3) that death row inmates “have the capacity for generosity, love and change,” and consequently execution “had no place in our country.”
Ms. Zimmerman may be right in general, but I would argue that there are specific circumstances that warrant execution. Consider Ted Bundy, “who kidnapped, raped, and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Bundy). He was executed in 1989.
A person born in 1946 (as Bundy was) has an average lifespan of 66.7 years. If he had been kept alive (at a cost of about $33,000 a year the total cost would have run to over $780,000.
Surely there are better uses for that amount of money than keeping serial killers alive and well.
William Vaughan, Jr.
Chebeague Island
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