Financial Facts About the Death Penalty (in the USA) - Death Penalty Information Center - 2019
Oklahoma
An
independent study of
the costs of seeking
and imposing the
death penalty in Oklahoma,
prepared for the
Oklahoma Death
Penalty Review
Commission, found
that seeking the
death penalty in
Oklahoma "incurs significantly
more time, effort,
and costs on
average, as compared
to when the death
penalty is not
sought in first
degree murder
cases." The
report—prepared by
Seattle University
criminal justice
professors Peter A.
Collins and Matthew
J. Hickman and law
professor Robert C.
Boruchowitz, with
research support by
Alexa D. O’Brien—determined
that, on average,
Oklahoma capital
cases cost 3.2 times
more than
non-capital cases.
Reviewing 15 state
studies of death
penalty costs
conducted between
2000 and 2016, the
study found that,
across the country,
seeking the death
penalty imposes an
average of
approximately
$700,000 more in
case-level costs
than not seeking
death. The
researchers wrote
that "all of these
studies have found
... that seeking and
imposing the death
penalty is more
expensive than not
seeking it."
The Oklahoma study
reviewed 184
first-degree murder
cases from Oklahoma
and Tulsa counties
in the years
2004-2010 and
analyzed costs
incurred at the
pre-trial, trial,
sentencing, and
post-sentencing
(appeals and
incarceration)
stages. Capital
prosecutions, it
found, cost the
counties more than
1½ times the amount
of incarceration
costs than did
non-capital trials
because capital
defendants spent an
average of 324 more
days in jail prior
to and during death
penalty trials.
Prosecutors spent
triple in pre-trial
and trial costs on
death penalty
proceedings, while
defense teams spent
nearly 10 times
more. Oklahoma
capital appeal
proceedings
cost between five
and six times more
than non-capital
appeals of
first-degree murder
convictions.
The
study "conservatively
estimated" that an
Oklahoma capital
case cost $110,000
more on
average than a
non-capital case. The researchers
said their results
were "consistent
with all previous
research on death
penalty
costs, which have
found that in
comparing similar
cases, seeking and
imposing the death
penalty is more
expensive than
not seeking it."
They concluded, "It
is a simple fact
that seeking the
death penalty is
more expensive.
There is not one
credible study, to
our knowledge, that
presents evidence to
the contrary."
(P. Collins, M. Hickman, and R. Boruchowitz, "An Analysis of the Economic Costs of Capital Punishment in Oklahoma," April 2017, Appendix 1B to The Report of the Oklahoma Death Penalty Review Commission, April 25, 2017; S. Vincent, "Costly death penalty cases strain state resources, report says," Tulsa World, Apr. 29, 2017.)
New Mexico
A
February 2017 Fiscal
Impact Report
prepared by the
Legislative Finance
Committee of the
New Mexico
legislature
estimated that
bringing back the
death penalty for
three types of
homicides in the
state would cost as
much as $7.2 million
over the first three
years. The report
notes that "Between
1979 and 2007 when
the death penalty
was an option to
prosecutors, there
were over 200 death
penalty cases filed,
but only 15 men
sentenced to death
and only one
execution." The Law
Offices of the
Public Defender
reports that the
defense costs for
the two New
Mexico death penalty
cases that remain in
the system following
the prospective
repeal of the
state's death
penalty statute have
been $607.4 thousand
for one case and
$1.3 million for the
other. The Fiscal
Impact Report also
contains a survey of
costs incurred by a
number of other
states in
administering their
death penalty
statutes.
(Legislative Finance Committee, "Fiscal Impact Report, HB72," February 2, 2017.)
Oregon
A
new study by Lewis &
Clark Law School and
Seattle University
that examined the
costs of hundreds of
aggravated murder
and murder cases in Oregon has
concluded that
"maintaining the
death penalty incurs
a significant
financial burden on
Oregon taxpayers."
The researchers
found that the
average trial and
incarceration costs
of an Oregon murder
case that results in
a death penalty are
almost double those
in a murder case
that results in a
sentence of life
imprisonment or a
term of years.
Excluding state
prison costs, the
study found, cases
that result in death
sentences may be
three to four times
more expensive.
The study found that
61 death sentences
handed down in
Oregon cost
taxpayers an average
of $2.3 million,
including
incarceration costs,
while a comparison
group of 313
aggravated murder
cases cost an
average of $1.4
million. Excluding
state prison costs,
the difference was
even more stark:
$1.1 million for
death sentences vs.
$315,159 for other
cases. The
study also found
that death penalty
costs were
escalating over
time, from $274,209
in the 1980s to
$1,783,148 in the
2000s. (See chart.
All costs are in
2016 dollars.) The
study examined cost
data from local
jails, the Oregon
Department of
Corrections, the
Office of Public
Defense Services,
and the Department
of Justice, which
provided information
on appeals costs.
Prosecution costs
were not included
because district
attorney's office
budgets were not
broken down by time
spent on each case.
Among the reasons
cited for the higher
cost in death
penalty cases were
the requirement for
appointment of
death-qualified
defense lawyers,
more pre- and
post-trial filings
by both prosecutors
and the defense,
lengthier and more
complicated jury
selection practices,
the two-phase death
penalty trial, and
more extensive
appeals once a death
sentence had been
imposed. Professor
Aliza Kaplan, one of
the authors of the
study, said, "The
decision makers,
those involved in
the criminal justice
system, everyone,
deserves to know how
much we are
currently spending
on the death
penalty, so that
when stakeholders,
citizens and
policy-makers make
these decisions,
they have as much
information as
possible to decide
what is best for
Oregon." Oregon has
carried out just two
executions since the
death penalty was
reinstated, both of
inmates who waived
their appeals. The
state currently has
a moratorium on
executions.
(A. Kaplan, P. Collins, and V. Mayhew, "Oregon's Death Penalty: A Cost Analysis," November 16, 2016; T. Hernandez, "How much does the Oregon death penalty cost? New study examines 100s of cases," The Oregonian, November 16, 2016; Press Release, "New Report Calculates Oregon’s Death Penalty Financial Costs," Lewis & Clark Law School and Seattle University, November 16, 2016.)
Nebraska
An August 2016 study of the costs of Nebraska's death penalty by Dr. Ernest Goss, a Creighton University economics professor who founded the conservative think tank, Goss & Associates, found that the state spends $14.6 million per year to maintain its capital punishment system. The study, The Economic Impact of the Death Penalty on the State of Nebraska: A Taxpayer Burden?, also estimated that each death penalty prosecution cost Nebraska's taxpayers about $1.5 million more than a life without parole prosecution. Conducting a meta-analysis of cost studies conducted across the country, Dr. Gross estimated that the death penalty costs states with capital punishment an average of $23.2 million more per year than alternative sentences. The study found that states with the death penalty spend about 3.54% of overall state budgets on court, corrections, and other criminal justice functions associated with the death penalty, while states without the death penalty spend about 2.93% on those functions. 1,842 homicides were committed in Nebraska between 1973 and 2014, with prosecutors seeking death 119 times and obtaining 33 death sentences. Of those sentenced to death, the study found that 13 had their sentences reduced, six died in prison, three were executed, one sentence was vacated, and ten are still appealing their sentences. The study was commissioned by Retain a Just Nebraska, an organization advocating for Nebraskans to vote to retain the Nebraska legislature's repeal of the state's death penalty in the November 2016 election.
(E. Goss, et. al, "The Economic Impact of the Death Penalty on the State of Nebraska: A Taxpayer Burden?," Goss & Associates Economic Solutions, August 15, 2016)
Pennsylvania
According
to an investigation
by The Reading
Eagle, Pennsylvania
has spent an
estimated $272
million per
execution since the
Commonwealth
reinstated its death
penalty in 1978.
Using data from a
2008 study by the
Urban Institute,
the Eagle calculated
that cost of
sentencing 408
people to death was
an estimated $816
million higher than
the cost of life
without parole.
The estimate is
conservative, the
paper says, because
it assumes only one
capital trial for
each defendant and
it does not include
the cost of cases in
which the death
penalty was sought
but not imposed. The
total cost may
exceed $1 billion.
An earlier
investigation had
estimated a cost of
at least $350
million,
based on the 185
inmates who were on
death row as of
2014, but additional
research into the
cases that had
already been
overturned, or in
which inmates died
or were executed
prior to 2014,
revealed a total of
408 people who had
been sentenced to
death.
(N. Brambila, "Executing Justice: Pennsylvania's death penalty system costs $816 million," The Reading Eagle, June 17, 2016; N. Brambila, "Executing Justice: The discretionary nature of the death penalty in Pennsylvania," The Reading Eagle, June 20, 2016.)
Indiana
Two state analyses of the costs of the death penalty in Indiana found that "the out-of-pocket expenditures associated with death penalty cases were significantly more expensive than cases for which prosecuting attorneys requested either life without parole or a term of years." The first analysis, prepared by the Legislative Services Agency for the General Assembly, April 13, 2015, as a cost assessment for a bill that would make more cases eligible for the death penalty, found that the average cost of a capital murder case tried before a jury was $789,581, more than 4.25 times greater than the average cost of a murder case tried to a jury in which the prosecution sought life without parole ($185,422). The analysis also found that a death penalty case resolved by guilty plea still cost more than 2.33 times as much ($433,702) as a life-without-parole case tried to a jury. Read the April 2015 assessment. A second assessment prepared on May 4, 2015, in connection with a bill to add another aggravating circumstance to the state's death penalty statute found that the state share of out-of-pocket expenditures for death penalty cases tried to a jury ($420,234) was 2.77 times greater than its share of expenditures in life-without-parole case tried to a jury ($151,890). It also found that death penalty cases tried to a jury costs counties an average of $369,347 in out-of-pocket expenditures, 11 times more than the average county expenditure for life-without-parole case tried to a jury ($33,532). The assessment found that death penalty cases resolved by a plea agreement are still significantly more expensive than non-capital cases that go to trial. The $148,513 average expenditure counties paid for capital cases that were resolved by plea was 4.43 times more than their average expenditure for life-without-parole case tried to a jury. Read the May 2015 assessment.
Washington
A Seattle University study examining the costs of the death penalty in Washington found that each death penalty case cost an average of $1 million more than a similar case where the death penalty was not sought ($3.07 million, versus $2.01 million). Defense costs were about three times as high in death penalty cases and prosecution costs were as much as four times higher than for non-death penalty cases. Criminal Justice Professor Peter Collins, the lead author of the study, said, “What this provides is evidence of the costs of death-penalty cases, empirical evidence. We went into it [the study] wanting to remain objective. This is purely about the economics; whether or not it’s worth the investment is up to the public, the voters of Washington and the people we elected.” (Although Washington's death penalty was reinstated in 1981, the study examined cases from 1997 onwards. Using only cases in the study, the gross bill to taxpayers for the death penalty will be about $120 million. Washington has carried out five executions since reinstatement, implying a cost of $24 million per execution. In three of those five cases, the inmate waived parts of his appeals, thus reducing costs.) The study was not able to include the likely higher yearly incarceration costs for death row inmates versus those not on death row.
(J. Sullivan, "Seeking death penalty adds $1M to prosecution cost, study says," Seattle Times, January 7, 2015; P. Collins, et al., "An Analysis of the Economic Costs of Seeking the Death Penalty in Washington State," Seattle University, January 1, 2015). See earlier Washington study.
Nevada
A 2014 recent study commissioned by the Nevada legislature found that the average death penalty case costs a half million dollars more than a case in which the death penalty is not sought. The Legislative Auditor estimated the cost of a murder trial in which the death penalty was sought cost $1.03 to $1.3 million, whereas cases without the death penalty cost $775,000. The auditor summarized the study's findings, saying, "Adjudicating death penalty cases takes more time and resources compared to murder cases where the death penalty sentence is not pursued as an option. These cases are more costly because there are procedural safeguards in place to ensure the sentence is just and free from error." The study noted that the extra costs of a death penalty trial were still incurred even in cases where a jury chose a lesser sentence, with those cases costing $1.2 million. The study was based on a sample of Nevada murder cases and include the costs of incarceration. Because certain court and prosecution costs could not be obtained, the authors said the costs were, "understated," and may be higher than the estimates given.
(C. Lochhead, "Audit: Death penalty nearly doubles cost of Nevada murder cases," Las Vegas Review-Journal, December 2, 2014; Legislative Auditor, "Performance Audit: Fiscal Costs of the Death Penalty," November 17, 2014). See earlier Nevada study.
Kansas
Defending a death penalty case costs about four times as much as defending a case where the death penalty is not sought, according to a new study by the Kansas Judicial Council. Examining 34 potential death-penalty cases from 2004-2011, the study found that defense costs for death penalty trials averaged $395,762 per case, compared to $98,963 per case when the death penalty was not sought. Costs incurred by the trial court showed a similar disparity: $72,530 for cases with the death penalty; $21,554 for those without. Even in cases that ended in a guilty plea and did not go to trial, cases where the death penalty was sought incurred about twice the costs for both defense ($130,595 v. $64,711) and courts ($16,263 v. $7,384), compared to cases where death was not sought. The time spent on death cases was also much higher. Jury trials averaged 40.13 days in cases where the death penalty was being sought, but only 16.79 days when it was not an option. Justices of the Kansas Supreme Court assigned to write opinions estimated they spent 20 times more hours on death penalty appeals than on non-death appeals. The Department of Corrections said housing prisoners on death row cost more than twice as much per year ($49,380) as for prisoners in the general population ($24,690).
("Report of the Judicial Council Death Penalty Advisory Committee," Judicial Council, Kansas Legislature, Feb. 13, 2014). See earlier Kansas study here.
Idaho
A new, but limited, study of the costs of the death penalty in Idaho found that capital cases are more costly and take much more time to resolve than non-capital cases. One measure of death-penalty costs was reflected in the time spent by attorneys handling appeals. The State Appellate Public Defenders office spent about 44 times more time on a typical death penalty appeal than on a life sentence appeal (almost 8,000 hours per capital defendant compared to about 180 hours per non-death penalty defendant). Capital cases with trials took 20.5 months to reach a conclusion while non-capital cases with trials took 13.5 months. The study was commissioned by the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee and performed by the Office of Performance Evaluations.The study also noted how infrequently the death penalty was applied in Idaho: of the 251 defendants who were charged with first-degree murder since 1998, the death penalty was sought against 55 (22%) of them, and just 7 were sentenced to death. More than half of the 40 people sentenced to death since 1977 have received lesser sentences after their death sentences were overturned.
("Financial Costs of the Death Penalty," Office of Performace Evaluations, Idaho Legislature, March 17, 2014).
Colorado
A
new study of the
cost of the death
penalty in
Colorado
revealed that
capital proceedings
require six
times more
days in court and
take much longer to
resolve than
life-without-parole
(LWOP) cases. The
study, published in
the University of
Denver Criminal Law
Review, found that
LWOP cases required
an average of 24.5
days of in-court
time, while the
death-penalty cases
required 147.6 days.
The authors noted
that selecting a
jury in an LWOP case
takes about a day
and a half; in a
capital case, jury
selection averages
26 days. In
measuring the
comparative time it
takes to go from
charging a defendant
to final sentencing,
the study found that
LWOP cases took an
average of 526 days
to complete; death
cases took almost
4 calendar
years longer--1,902
days. The study
found that even when
a death-penalty case
ends in a plea
agreement and a life
sentence, the
process takes a year
and a half longer
than an LWOP case
with a trial.
(J. Marceau and H. Whitson, "The Cost of Colorado's Death Penalty," 3 Univ. of Denver Criminal Law Review 145 (2013)).
Click on image at left to view infographic on Costs in Colorado (ACLU of CO).
California
Assessment of Costs by Judge Arthur Alarcon and Prof. Paula Mitchell (2011, updated 2012)
The authors concluded that the cost of the death penalty in California has totaled over $4 billion since 1978:
- $1.94 billion--Pre-Trial and Trial Costs
- $925 million--Automatic Appeals and State Habeas Corpus Petitions
- $775 million--Federal Habeas Corpus Appeals
- $1 billion--Costs of Incarceration
The authors calculated that, if the Governor commuted the sentences of those remaining on death row to life without parole, it would result in an immediate savings of $170 million per year, with a savings of $5 billion over the next 20 years.
See DPIC's Summary of 2011 California Cost Study
Report of the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice (2008):
“The additional cost of confining an inmate to death row, as compared to the Maximum Security Prisons where those sentenced to life without possibility of parole ordinarily serve their sentences, is $90,000 per year per inmate. With California’s current death row population of 670, that accounts for $63.3 million annually.”
- Using conservative rough projections, the Commission estimates the annual costs of the present (death penalty) system to be $137 million per year.
- The cost of the present system with reforms recommended by the Commission to ensure a fair process would be $232.7 million per year.
- The cost of a system in which the number of death-eligible crimes was significantly narrowed would be $130 million per year.
- The cost of a system which imposes a maximum penalty of lifetime incarceration instead of the death penalty would be $11.5 million per year.
(Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, June 30, 2008).
See more California information below.
Maryland
Study Reveals Costs in Maryland: $186 Million for Five Executions
A study released
by the Urban
Institute on March
6, 2008 forecast
that the lifetime
cost to taxpayers
for the
capitally-prosecuted
cases in Maryland
since 1978 will be
$186 million. That
translates to $37.2
million for each of
the state’s five
executions since the
state reenacted the
death penalty. The
study estimates that
the average cost to
Maryland taxpayers
for reaching a
single death
sentence is $3
million - $1.9
million more than
the cost of a
non-death penalty
case. (This includes
investigation,
trial, appeals, and
incarceration
costs.) The study
examined 162 capital
cases that were
prosecuted between
1978 and 1999 and
found that those
cases will cost $186
million more than
what those cases
would have cost had
the death penalty
not existed as a
punishment. At every
phase of a case,
according to the
study, capital
murder cases cost
more than
non-capital murder
cases.
Of the 162 capital
cases, there were
106 cases in which a
death sentence was
sought but not
handed down in
Maryland. Those
cases cost the state
an additional $71
million compared to
the cost non-death
penalty cases.
Those costs were
incurred simply to
seek the death
penalty where the
ultimate outcome was
a life or long-term
prison sentence.
(J. McMenamin,
“Death penalty costs
Md. more than life
term,” Baltimore
Sun, March 6, 2008).
Read the
entire study here.
Nevada
A recent study of the death penalty in Nevada compared the costs of defending capital and non-capital murder cases. The study, conducted by Dr. Terance Miethe of the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, looked at the time spent by defense attorneys at various stages of a case. The study’s findings included:
- Clark County public defense attorneys spent an average of 2,298 hours on a capital murder case compared to an average of 1,087 hours on a non-capital murder case--a difference of 1,211 hours, or 112%.
- Defending the average capital murder case in Clark County cost $229,800 for a Public Defender or $287,250 for appointed counsel. The additional cost of capital murder cases was $170,000 to $212,000 per case compared to the cost of a non-capital murder case in the same county.
- The 80 pending capital murder cases in Clark County will cost approximately $15 million more than if they were prosecuted without seeking the death penalty.
- Clark County cases that resulted in a death sentence that concluded between 2009 and 2011 took an average of 1,107 days, or just over 3 years, to go from initial filing to sentencing. In contrast, cases that resulted in life without parole took an average of 887 days (2.4 years) to go from initial filing to sentencing.
- Of the 35 completed cases in Clark County from 2009 to 2011 where a Notice of Intent to seek the death penalty was filed, 69% resulted in a life sentence. Nearly half (49%) ultimately resulted in a sentence of life without parole, and the next most common disposition was a sentence of life with parole (20%). Only 5 of the 35 cases (14%) resulted in a death sentence.
The study did not include the costs of prosecution or all appelate expenses. The author noted: "It is important to note that this statistical extrapolation does not cover the full array of time spent in capital cases by other court officials (e.g. judges, prosecutors, jurors), staff and administrative personnel, mitigation specialists, investigators, and expert witnesses. It also does not take into account the additional costs of capital litigation that are associated with state/federal appeals and the extra costs of imprisonment of death eligible inmates pending trial and sentencing."
(T. Miethe, "Estimates of Time Spent in Capital and Non-Capital Murder Cases: A Statistical Analysis of Survey Data from Clark County Defense Attorneys," Department of Criminal Justice, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, February 21, 2012).
Federal Costs
The average cost
of defending a trial
in a federal death
case is $620,932,
about 8 times that
of a federal murder
case in which the
death penalty is not
sought. A study
found that those
defendants whose
representation was
the least expensive,
and thus who
received the least
amount of attorney
and expert time, had
an increased
probability of
receiving a death
sentence. Defendants
with less than
$320,000 in terms of
representation costs
(the bottom 1/3 of
federal capital
trials) had a 44%
chance of receiving
a death sentence at
trial. On the other
hand, those
defendants whose
representation costs
were higher than
$320,000 (the
remaining 2/3 of
federal capital
trials) had only a
19% chance of being
sentenced to death.
Thus, the study
concluded that
defendants with low
representation costs
were more than twice
as likely to receive
a death sentence.
The complete report
can be found
here.
(Office of Defender
Services of the
Administrative
Office of the U.S.
Courts, "Update
on Cost, Quality,
and Availability of
Defense
Representation in
Federal Death
Penalty Cases,"
June 2008; prepared
by Jon Gould and
Lisa Greenman).
Further update at J. Gould and L. Greenman, "Report to the Committee on Defender Services-Judicial Conference of the United States," September 2010.
Washington
Report to Washington State Bar Association regarding cost
At the trial
level, death penalty
cases are estimated
to generate roughly
$470,000 in
additional costs to
the prosecution and
defense over the
cost of trying the
same case as an
aggravated murder
without the death
penalty and costs of
$47,000 to $70,000
for court personnel.
On direct appeal,
the cost of
appellate defense
averages $100,000
more in death
penalty cases, than
in non-death penalty
murder cases.
Personal restraint
petitions filed in
death penalty cases
on average cost an
additional $137,000
in public defense
costs.
(FINAL
REPORT OF THE DEATH
PENALTY SUBCOMMITTEE
OF THE COMMITTEE ON
PUBLIC DEFENSE,
Washington State Bar
Association,
December 2006).
New Jersey
Death Penalty has Cost New Jersey Taxpayers $253 Million
A New Jersey Policy Perspectives report concluded that the state's death penalty has cost taxpayers $253 million since 1983, a figure that is over and above the costs that would have been incurred had the state utilized a sentence of life without parole instead of death. The study examined the costs of death penalty cases to prosecutor offices, public defender offices, courts, and correctional facilities. The report's authors said that the cost estimate is "very conservative" because other significant costs uniquely associated with the death penalty were not available. "From a strictly financial perspective, it is hard to reach a conclusion other than this: New Jersey taxpayers over the last 23 years have paid more than a quarter billion dollars on a capital punishment system that has executed no one," the report concluded. Since 1982, there have been 197 capital trials in New Jersey and 60 death sentences, of which 50 were reversed. There have been no executions, and 10 men are housed on the state's death row. Michael Murphy, former Morris County prosecutor, remarked: "If you were to ask me how $11 million a year could best protect the people of New Jersey, I would tell you by giving the law enforcement community more resources. I'm not interested in hypotheticals or abstractions, I want the tools for law enforcement to do their job, and $11 million can buy a lot of tools." (See Newsday, Nov. 21, 2005; also Press Release, New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Nov. 21, 2005).
Read the Executive Summary. Read the full report. Read the NJADP Press Release.
New York
State
spent $170 million
in 9 years, with no
executions
New York reinstated
the death penalty in
1995. In 2004, the
state's high court
overturned the law.
Eventually, all 7
death sentences that
had been imposed
were overturned. No
one was executed.
The legislature
repeatedly rejected
attempts to
reinstate the death
penalty. During the
time when the law
was in effect, NY
spent about $170
million over 9
years, producing no
final death
sentences or
executions. (See D.
Wise, “Capital
Punishment Proves to
Be Expensive,” New
York Law Journal,
April 30, 2002, at
p.1; see also
“Costly Price of
Capital
Punishment—Case
Shows Effort
Expended Before the
State takes a Life,”
Albany Times-Union,
Sept. 22, 2003 (over
$160 million spent
in 7 years); N.Y.
Times, Feb. 28, 2005
(citing costs of
$170 million).
Early
projections: Death
penalty would cost
state $1.8 million
per case just
through trial and
initial appeal
One of the earliest
cost studies was
prepared by the N.Y.
State Defenders
Association in 1982
as the state was
considering
reinstating the
death penalty. The
report concluded
that state and
county charges for
the defense,
prosecution, and
courts would be
about $1.8 million
per case through
trial, initial state
appeal, and appeal
to the U.S. Supreme
Court. The first 40
cases when tried to
a verdict would cost
the state over $59
million. (J. Gradess,
"Capital Losses: The
Price of the Death
Penalty for New York
State," NY State
Defenders Assn.,
April 1, 1982).
Tennessee
Study Finds Death penalty Costly, Ineffective
A new report released by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury recommended changes to the state's costly death penalty and called into question its effectiveness in preventing crime. The Office of Research noted that it lacked sufficient data to accurately account for the total cost of capital trials, stating that because cost and time records were not maintained, the Office of Research was unable to determine the total, comprehensive cost of the death penalty in Tennessee." Although noting that, "no reliable data exists concerning the cost of prosecution or defense of first-degree murder cases in Tennessee," the report concluded that capital murder trials are longer and more expensive at every step compared to other murder trials. In fact, the available data indicated that in capital trials, taxpayers pay half again as much as murder cases in which prosecutors seek prison terms rather than the death penalty. Findings in the report include the following:
- Death penalty trials cost an average of 48% more than the average cost of trials in which prosecutors seek life imprisonment.
- Tennessee District Attorneys General are not consistent in their pursuit of the death penalty.
- Surveys and interviews of district attorneys indicate that some prosecutors "use the death penalty as a 'bargaining chip' to secure plea bargains for lesser sentences."
- Previous research provides no clear indication whether the death penalty acts as a method of crime prevention.
- The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals reversed 29 percent of capital cases on direct appeal.
- Although any traumatic trial may cause stress and pain for jurors, the victims' family, and the defendant's family, the pressure may be at its peak during death penalty trials. (July 2004)
Read The Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Office of Research's Report, "Tennessee's Death Penalty: Costs and Consequences" (2004).
Kansas
Study Concludes Death Penalty is Costly Policy
In its review of death penalty expenses, the State of Kansas concluded that capital cases are 70% more expensive than comparable non-death penalty cases. The study counted death penalty case costs through to execution and found that the median death penalty case costs $1.26 million. Non-death penalty cases were counted through to the end of incarceration and were found to have a median cost of $740,000. For death penalty cases, the pre-trial and trial level expenses were the most expensive part, 49% of the total cost. The costs of appeals were 29% of the total expense, and the incarceration and execution costs accounted for the remaining 22%. In comparison to non-death penalty cases, the following findings were revealed:
- The investigation costs for death-sentence cases were about 3 times greater than for non-death cases.
- The trial costs for death cases were about 16 times greater than for non-death cases ($508,000 for death case; $32,000 for non-death case).
- The appeal costs for death cases were 21 times greater.
- The costs of carrying out (i.e. incarceration and/or execution) a death sentence were about half the costs of carrying out a non-death sentence in a comparable case.
- Trials involving a death sentence averaged 34 days, including jury selection; non-death trials averaged about 9 days.
(Performance Audit Report: Costs Incurred for Death Penalty Cases: A K-GOAL Audit of the Department of Corrections, Dec. 2003) Read DPIC's Summary of the Kansas Cost Report.
USA
Death Penalty Trials Very Costly Relative to County Budgets
Capital cases burden county budgets with large unexpected costs, according to a report released by the National Bureau of Economic Research, "The Budgetary Repercussions of Capital Convictions," by Katherine Baicker. Counties manage these high costs by decreasing funding for highways and police and by increasing taxes. The report estimates that between 1982-1997 the extra cost of capital trials was $1.6 billion. (NBER Working Paper No. w8382, Issued in July 2001) Read the abstract.
Indiana
A state analysis of the costs of the death penalty in Indiana found the average cost to a county for a trial and direct appeal in a capital case was more than ten times more than a life-without-parole case. The average capital case resulting in a death sentence cost $449,887, while the average cost of case in which a life-without-parole sentence was sought and achieved was only $42,658. The study was prepared by the Legislative Services Agency for the General Assembly, Jan. 2010, as a cost assessment for a bill that would make more cases eligible for the death penalty. Read the assessment.
Total cost of Indiana's death penalty is 38% greater than the total cost of life without parole sentences
A study by Indiana's Criminal Law Study Commission found this to be true, assuming that 20% of death sentences are overturned and resentenced to life. (Indiana Criminal Law Study Commission, "Commission Report on Capital Sentencing," January 10, 2002)
North Carolina
Death Penalty Costs North Carolina Nearly $11 Million a Year
A recent study published by a Duke University economist revealed North Carolina could save $11 million annually if it dropped the death penalty. Philip J. Cook, a professor at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy, calculated the extra state costs of the death penalty during fiscal years 2005 and 2006. He calculated over $21 million worth of expenses that would have been saved if the death penalty had been repealed. The total included extra defense costs for capital cases in the trial phase, extra payments to jurors, post-conviction costs, resentencing hearings, and the extra costs to the prison system. This conservative estimate did not include resources that would have been freed up in the Office of the Appellate Defender and the North Carolina Supreme Court, the extra time spent by prosecutors in capital cases, and the costs to taxpayers for federal appeals.
The two-year costs were summed up as follows:
Extra defense
costs for capital
cases in trial phase
$13,180,385
Extra payments to
jurors $224,640
Capital
post-conviction
costs $7,473,556
Resentencing
hearings $594,216
Prison system
$169,617
Total $21,642,414
(P. Cook, "Potential Savings from Abolition of the Death Penalty in North Carolina,"American Law and Economics Review, advance access, December 11, 2009)
North Carolina Spends More per Execution than on a Non-death Penalty Murder Case
The most comprehensive death penalty study in the country found that the death penalty costs North Carolina $2.16 million more per execution than the a non-death penalty murder case with a sentence of life imprisonment (. On a national basis, these figures translate to an extra cost of over $1 billion spent since 1976 on the death penalty. ("The Costs of Processing Murder Cases in North Carolina" Duke University, May 1993).
Florida
Florida Spends Millions Extra per Year on Death Penalty
Florida would save $51 million each year by punishing all first-degree murderers with life in prison without parole, according to estimates by the Palm Beach Post. Based on the 44 executions Florida has carried out since 1976, that amounts to an approximate cost of $24 million for each execution. This finding takes into account the relatively few inmates who are actually executed, as well as the time and effort expended on capital defendants who are tried but convicted of a lesser murder charge, and those whose death sentences are overturned on appeal. ("The High Price of Killing Killers," Palm Beach Post, January 4, 2000)
Florida Spent Average of $3.2 Million per Execution from 1973 to 1988
During that time period, Florida spent an estimated $57 million on the death penalty to achieve 18 executions. ("Bottom Line: Life in Prison One-Sixth as Expensive," Miami Herald, July 10, 1988)
California (earlier)
California Spends Millions More on Capital Cases
California spends $90 Million dollars annually above and beyond the ordinary costs of the justice system on capital cases. $78 million of that total is incurred at the trial level (Sacramento Bee, March 18, 1988). In January 2003, despite a budge deficit, California Governor Gray Davis proposed building a new $220 million state of the art death row. ("San Quentin Debate: Death Row vs. Bay Views, New York Times, December 18, 2004).
The California Death Penalty System Costs Taxpayers More than $114 Million a Year
According to state and federal records obtained by The Los Angeles Times, maintaining the California death penalty system costs taxpayers more than $114 million a year beyond the cost of simply keeping the convicts locked up for life. This figure does not count the millions more spent on court costs to prosecute capital cases. The Times concluded that Californians and federal taxpayers have paid more than a quarter of a billion dollars for each of the state's 11 executions, and that it costs $90,000 more a year to house one inmate on death row, where each person has a private cell and extra guards, than in general prison population. This additional cost per prisoner adds up to $57.5 million in annual spending. ("Death Row Often Means a Long Life," Los Angeles Times, March 6, 2005).
1988 Cost Study by the Sacramento Bee
A study done by the Sacramento Bee (March 28, 1988) suggests that California would save $90 million per year if it were to abolish the death penalty. $78 million of these expenses are occurred at the trial level and would not be reduced by shortening appeals. ("CLOSING DEATH ROW WOULD SAVE STATE $90 MILLION A YEAR," Sacramento Bee, March 28, 1988).
Oregon
"[T]he average cost of defending a death penalty case at the trial level over the last ten years was $438,651, while the average cost of defending a non-death aggravated murder case at the trial level was $216,693, less than half. The Department of Justice has spent on average $66,728.65 and 818.5 attorney hours on just direct automatic appeals in the cases of 61 defendants (for a total amount of $4,070,447.60 and 49,928.80 hours respectively)." A. Kaplan, "Oregon's Death Penalty: The Practical Reality," 17 Lewis & Clark Law Review 1, 36 (2013).
According to an estimate by Dr. Bill Long, "Costs of the Oregon Death Penalty I, prepared for testimony at a capital trial, the cost of putting a person to death in Oregon is at least 50% more, and may be up to five times as much as the cost of a life without parole sentence. (See Kaplan, above at 36).
Oregon taxpayers have paid approximately $2.2 million on the case of Randy Lee Guzek, who has been on death row for 24 years and is still not at the end of his appeals. (See Kaplan, above at 39).
Texas
Texas death penalty cases cost more than non-capital cases
Information on Costs of the Death Penalty From DPIC
Testimony of Richard C. Dieter, Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center, before the Nebraska Judiciary Committee on the Costs of the Death Penalty (Lincoln, March 13, 2013)
DPIC report: Smart on Crime: Reconsidering the Death Penalty in a Time of Economic Crisis regarding costs of the death penalty and law enforcement views on the effectiveness. (October 20, 2009)
Testimony of Richard C. Dieter, Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center, before the Kentucky Standing Committee on Judiciary Hearings on the Costs of the Death Penalty (Frankfort, March 1, 2012)
Testimony of Richard C. Dieter, Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center, before the Pennsylvania Senate Government Management and Cost Study Commission on the costs of the death penalty and its lack of return. (Harrisburg, June 7, 2010)
Testimony of Richard C. Dieter, Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center, before the Commission to Study the Death Penalty in New Hampshire on costs of the death penalty and related issues. (December 4, 2009)
Testimony of Richard C. Dieter, Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center, before the Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment regarding the costs of the death penalty and related issues (Sept. 5, 2008).
Testimony of Richard C. Dieter, Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center, before the Nevada Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice regarding the costs of the death penalty and related issues (July 7, 2008; telephonic testimony).
"Costs of the Death Penalty and Related Issues" Testimony of Richard C. Dieter, Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center, before the Colorado Senate Judiciary Committee. (February 7, 2007) This is a comprehensive description of the death penalty process and related costs.
Testimony of Richard C. Dieter, Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center, regarding the costs of the death penalty and related issues before the New York State Assembly Standing Committees on Codes, Judiciary, and Correction. (January 25, 2005)
Testimony of Richard C. Dieter, Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center, regarding the costs of the death penalty before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Criminal Justice. (March 27, 2003)
Testimony of Richard C. Dieter, Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center, regarding the costs of the death penalty to the Assembly and Senate of Nevada, Legislative Commission's Subcommittee to Study the Death Penalty and Related DNA Testing. (April 18, 2002)
DPIC report: Millions Misspent: What Politicians Don't Say About the High Costs of the Death Penalty (updated version, 1994)
See also "Fighting Crime in the U.S. and Internationally: Is the Death Penalty Necessary? A Unique Conversation Between U.S. and European Law Enforcement," A panel of law enforcement officials from the U.S. and Europe discussing the merits of the death penalty in reducing violent crime. The officers also addressed whether capital punishment actually helps to keep citizens safe, assists healing for victims, and uses crime-fighting resources efficiently. (Washington, D.C., October 13, 2010).