Why does executions cost so much

For Educators. Fact Sheet. Policy Issues Costs Studies consistently find that the death penalty is more expensive than alternative punishments. Overview The death penalty is a moral issue for some and a policy issue for others. The Issue How much the death penalty actually costs and how that compares to a system in which a life sentence is the maximum punishment can only be determined by sophisticated studies, usually at the state level. What DPIC Offers This section contains summaries of each of the main cost studies on the death penalty and links to many of the entire studies.

Why is the death penalty so expensive? Legal costs: Almost all people who face the death penalty cannot afford their own attorney. The state must assign public defenders or court-appointed lawyers to represent them the accepted practice is to assign two lawyers , and pay for the costs of the prosecution as well.

And both of these figures include the costs for life without the possibility of parole. Moreover, the rates for post-conviction reversal in both Oregon and Washington are extremely high — 79 percent and 75 percent, respectively. That means that only a handful of cases ever advance to the point of execution — and that point does not even currently exist, as both states have moratoriums in place. The evidence is clear that maintaining the capital punishment pipeline costs taxpayers more money. Many states, such as Nebraska , Colorado , Pennsylvania , Washington and Oregon , have highlighted these extreme costs as one of their reasons to seek an end to the death penalty.

Some people may recognize that seeking and imposing the death penalty is more expensive, but do not understand why. The U. Constitution protects basic rights through the criminal justice process, including equal treatment under the law and freedom from cruel and unusual punishment. Ever since Furman v. Georgia in , the U. Supreme Court has recognized that additional safeguards are necessary to protect these rights in death penalty cases. In holding that the death penalty, as it was applied at the time, violated the the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, the Furman Court was confronted with evidence that these death sentences were imposed in arbitrary, capricious and discriminatory ways.

A few years later in Gregg v. Georgia , the U. Supreme Court upheld a Georgia death penalty statute that became the model for the rest of the country. The Gregg decision introduced a requirement for bifurcated trials, meaning the guilt and penalty phases are separate.

The alarming cost of the death penalty. How much does the death penalty cost? But we continue to cut the programs that could prevent these types of crimes — Kansas State Senator Carolyn McGinn, a Republican, who sponsored legislation to repeal the death penalty in order to save funds. Download the pdf. News about Cost.

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