Prosecutor right not to seek death penalty

Regarding the Dec. 22 letter, “Recent murders should be death penalty cases”: I agree with and support the Snohomish County prosecutor in his decision to not seek the death penalty in the Ivanov and the Reed cases. The letter writer claims it is easier to let the “state taxpayers support these murderers in relative comfort than to do his job.” It costs the taxpayers much more to prosecute a person for the death penalty than to incarcerate them for the remainder of their life, due to the legal costs involved. I prefer my tax dollars to be spent in other ways than seeking the death penalty.

Rick English

Arlington