The High Cost of Capital Punishment

2011

I have chosen this topic because it is very current, especially in the United States, where the debate over the death penalty has a long history. In my essay I will focus only on the USA, but the issue of death penalty is a very much debated topic all over the world. I would like to state from the beginning where do I stay in this matter. I do not agree with the death penalty, I dont consider that by killing people we can pursue others not to kill. We live in a society, a modern one, if someone violates the rules, definitely should be punished. But we also have human rights, which are given to us when we get born, everyone has the right to live, and I consider that life in prison is a much fair sentence than capital punishment. In states such as Kansas, Connecticut, Texas bills for abolition of the death penalty have been launched. This seems unusual, mostly because a recent poll shows that 64% of americans are in favour of it.1 This automatically raises the question of whether a hidden agenda exists behind those bills. The consideration of abolishment is probably due to a combination of factors, among them an increasing public awareness about the death penalty, in terms of flaws and costs. In this paper I would like to examine the economic costs of the capital punishment and, if it is possible, demonstrate that capital punsihment is a lot more expensive than life in prison without the possibility of parole. First of all I will define the main notions that will be used in this paper, such as capital punishment, life without parole, death row. Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offense or a capital crime.2 The softer sentence for capital offences is considered to be the life without possibility of parole, which guarantees the criminal will not endanger the public, so will remain locked for the rest of his/her life. Those however, who receive the death penalty are kept in a place called death row, the term is also used to describe the state before the execution (being on death row). More than two-third of the countries in the world have abolished the death penalty; even the European Union is opposed to it and has consistently espoused its universal abolition, working towards this goal.3 Even though the United States is considered to be a very developed, democratic and modern country, it seems to me that in this case it remained behind the others. 35 out of his 50 states still apply the capital punishment, failing, in my opinion, to recognize the human rights violation and the abuse of
1 2

Gallup Poll, http://www.gallup.com/poll/1606/death-penalty.aspx Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, Macmillan Education, 2002, page. 357. 3 Official Site of the EU, European Union signs declaration against death penalty, http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/1481&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&gui Language=en

governmental power. I tend to emphasis on the USA, mainly because is the only country which keeps records about all the convictions, death penalty cases and most importantly fact sheets about the costs of trials, number of executions and exonerations. At first glance, the costs involved in the execution of an inmate may seem simple and minuscule. Since 2003, the state of Florida paid $150 to the executioner, $20 for the last meal, $150 for a new suit for the inmate's burial, and $525 for the undertaker's services and a coffin. In Florida, the cost of an execution is less than $1,000.4 The actual execution is quick and simple, what costs so much is the capital punishment system and process. Because there were found some issues of unconstitutionality, states found it necessary to introduce complex appeal processes, to guarantee the rights of the death row inmate. I would like to shortly describe the process, starting with the arrest to the execution, to highlight why does it cost so much. The first step is that the police arrests John (fictional character), if the case is solid and there seems to be sufficient evidence that John did commit the crime, the District Attorney sets a court trial date. If the persecution proves its case, John gets convicted of the crime, and then the case goes to penalty phase, where the jury decides whether the death penalty should be imposed. Till this point, it may seem that the costs are as high as in any other case; however I have to mention that everyone involved in a death penalty case must be specially qualified as capable and experienced, including the defense attorneys, the jud ge and the jury. After the jury decided for the death penalty, John is transferred on death row. It usually takes years for a condemned prisoner to be executed, since there is a long appeals process at his or her disposal. People who have been sentenced to death are housed in a separate section of the prison. Once a prisoner has exhausted his or her appeals, officials choose a date for the execution to take place. At this point, the prisoner may be transferred to the "death watch" area of the prison. During the final 24 hours before a prisoner is executed, friends, relatives are allowed to visit the condemned person. The final hours of a condemned prisoner's life include a last meal, a visit from a spiritual advisor and from the prison warden, and the arrival of witnesses to the execution. Finally, just before the execution begins, prison officials equip the condemned person with a heart monitor, which will later be used to verify that death has occurred. To conclude, we can clearly see how long this process can take. I will mention just one well-known case, the one of Ted Bundys, he spent 8 years on death row, this cost Florida nearly
4

Farlex Legal Dictionary, http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Execution+(legal)

6 million dollars. In other words, time is money. Because of these very long procedures, nearly a quarter of deaths on death row in the USA are due to natural causes. Death penalty cases cost more than other murder cases because state execution is fundamentally different from sentencing someone to die in prison of other causes. Mistakes cannot be undone when innocent people are executed. In the USA, more than 120 innocent people have been freed from death row since 1973(some of them with the help of DNA results).5 To confirm the above mentioned facts, I will take the case of California. A Report by the Northern California chapter of the American Civil Union shows that almost 700 inmates are sitting on death row. Natasha Minsker, one of the authors of the report says: murder suspects in California actually seek the death penalty because it is the only way to get a single room in the state's prison system; only 1% of people sentenced to death in California in the last 30 years have been executed. Does the death penalty cost more than life imprisonment? This certainly is a much debated subject, but if we let the numbers talk, we can easily draw the conclusions. In California the current system costs 137 million dollars per year; it would cost $11.5 million for a system without the death penalty. The biggest costs associated with the death penalty occur prior to and during trial, not in post-conviction proceedings. Even if all appeals were abolished, the death penalty would still be more expensive than alternative sentences. To see more clearly the facts, I will take a concrete case. The cost records for the Scott Peterson6 trial were among the most comprehensive (see figure7).
People v. Scott Peterson, Death Penalty Trial $3.2 Million Total

Frank R. Baumgartner, Suzanna L, A. Boydstun, The Decline of the Death Penalty and the Discovery of Innocence, Cambridge University Press, 2008, page 41. 6 American murderer, who killed his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn child in Modesto, California, 2002.He is still on death row in San Quentin State Prison, while his case is on appeal to the Supreme Court. 7 American Civil Liberties Union, http://www.aclunc.org/issues/criminal_justice/death_penalty/frequently_asked_questions_about_the_costs_of_c alifornia's_death_penalty.shtml

Records reveal that the trial cost a minimum of $3.2 million, $1.8 million in costs incurred by Stanislaus County and an additional $1.4 million for the City of Modesto8. These records reveal that prosecution expenses totaled $1.4 million, of which more than $700,000 covered the salaries and benefits for staff. In total, 33 employees from the prosecutors office worked on the case: 5 attorneys, 7 investigators and 21 additional staff. More than 20,000 hours of employee time were spent on the case. While a non-death penalty trial would cost far less. In non-death penalty trials no jury is needed, and much less experts have to work on a case (see figure9). And these are only the costs of the trial; more expenses come with the imprisonment of those who are sentenced to death.
$45 People v. Robert Wigley, Non-death penalty trial -$454.000 Total

In San Quentin a new death row facility was built, the construction cost per inmate was $594.000; total cost was $400 million. Housing individuals on death row costs $90.000 per inmate/year, because of the high security measures. While to incarcerate an inmate in general prison it costs an average of about $47.000 per year (Security$19.663, Health Care- $12.000, Facility maintenance$7.000, Administration- $3.000, Inmate Support- $2.500, Rehabilitation Programs- $1.500).10 According to state and federal records obtained by

The Los Angeles Times, maintaining the California death penalty system costs more than $114 million a year. The Times concluded that California paid more than a quarter of a billion dollars for each of the 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. This additional cost per prisoner is up to $57.5 million in annual spending. But where does this money come from?-from taxpayers. If everyone who is on death row in California would be sentenced to
8 9

New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/keyword/scott-peterson American Civil Liberties Union, http://www.aclunc.org/issues/criminal_justice/death_penalty/frequently_asked_questions_about_the_costs_of_califo rnia's_death_penalty.shtml 10 Legislative Analysts Office, How much does it cost to incarcerate an inmate?, http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/laomenus/sections/crim_justice/6_cj_inmatecost.aspx?catid=3

permanent imprisonment, $117 million could be saved, and probably spent on other, maybe more useful things. It is very interesting the calculate the costs, if we do that, we come to the conclusion that a 25 years old man would have to serve a life term to the age of 145 before the costs of her incarceration would surpass those of executing him. Only California was mentioned above, but many other states have conducted studies, which revealed the enormous costs of the death penalty system. A survey by the Kansas Legislative Post Audit found that the estimated cost of a death penalty case was 70% more than the cost of a comparable non-death penalty case.11 Report from Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Office of Research also states that death penalty trials cost an average 48% more than the average cost of trials in which prosecutors seek life imprisonment.12 From the facts mentioned above, we can draw the conclusion that sentencing someone to death has huge economic effects. Many people have researched this topic, which is an emotional and politically charged issue. In each state there was a major shift towards rejection of the death penalty. For example, in Connecticut both houses actually voted in favor of a bill that would have banned executions, but the governor vetoed it. In my opinion, here comes the problem, the problem of the opposing viewpoints related to this matter. There are many arguments pro and against capital punishment, till the polls show that 70 to 80 % of people support the death penalty, major changes cannot be made. We can make the argument that it is cheaper not to have the death penalty, but this should not be the main cause of its abolition. Politicians, who could really have an effect on the outgoing of this matter, are also divided by their beliefs. Barack Obama wrote in his memoir that death penalty "does little to deter crime." But he supports capital punishment in cases "so heinous, so beyond the pale, that the community is justified in expressing the full measure of its outrage by meting out the ultimate punishment."13 In this time of financial crisis, people reconsider the actual effects of capital punishment and realize that they would do better without it. As Ed Barnes said in his article Just or Not, Cost
11

Official Site of Amnesty International, Death Penalty Cost Studies, http://www.amnestyusa.org/ourwork/issues/death-penalty/us-death-penalty-facts/death-penalty-cost 12 Official Site of the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Office of Research, Tennessee's Death Penalty: Cost and Consequences, http://www.comptroller1.state.tn.us/orea/PublicationDetails.aspx?ReportKey=2151a403-5ab14d38-97ee-6cdca625e60c 13 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/08/AR2007020802262_2.html

of Death Penalty Is a Killer for State Budgets, the cost of killing killers kills us14. To some extent, I

agree with him, it is really outrageous how much death penalty trials and the housing of death row inmates cost. However I, as an opponent of death penalty, think that if a state decides on abolishing it, this should happen because of humanitarian reasons and because we cannot live based on the eye for an eye rule in a modern society. Personal beliefs should not be changed because of an economic crisis; this would lead to a totally materialistic world. I, personally would abolish the death penalty, but not because of its economic effects. To sum it up, I think I succeeded in proving that costs of capital punishment are higher than costs of sentencing someone to life in prison without the possibility of parole. I am not is position to decide what changes could benefit the system, but those who call the shots should take in consideration not only the economic, but also the sentimental costs of capital punishment and maybe act as humanitarians.

14

Ed Barnes, Just or Not, Cost of Death Penalty Is a Killer for State Budgets, http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/03/27/justcost-death-penalty-killer-state-budgets/

Bibliography
1. 2. Macmillan English Dictionary, Macmillan Education, 2002 Farlex Legal Dictionary, http://legal-

dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Execution+(legal) 3. Frank R. Baumgartner, Suzanna L, A. Boydstun, The Decline of the Death Penalty and the Discovery of Innocence, Cambridge University Press, 2008 4. Ed Barnes, Just or Not, Cost of Death Penalty Is a Killer for State Budgets,

http://www.foxnews.com 5. Gallup Poll, http://www.gallup.com/poll/1606/death-penalty.aspx 6. European Union signs declaration against death penalty, Official Site of the EU, http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/1481&format=HTML&aged=0& language=EN&guiLanguage=en 7. New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/keyword/scott-peterson 8. How much does it cost to incarcerate an inmate? Legislative Analysts Office, http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/laomenus/sections/crim_justice/6_cj_inmatecost.aspx?catid=3 9. Death Penalty Cost Studies, Official Site of Amnesty International, , http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/death-penalty/us-death-penalty-facts/death-penaltycost 10. Tennessee's Death Penalty: Cost and Consequences, Official Site of the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Office of Research, http://www.comptroller1.state.tn.us/orea/PublicationDetails.aspx?ReportKey=2151a403-5ab14d38-97ee-6cdca625e60c