Posted: December 11, 2006
The Death Penalty Subcommittee of the Committee on Public Defense of the Washington State Bar has prepared a report on the state's death penalty that will be submitted to the Bar Association's Board of Governors in early 2007. The Subcommittee was formed to examine the costs of the state's death penalty and to recommend whether the death penalty should be continued, given the expenses and the state's experience in carrying out death sentences. The Death Penalty Subcommittee was made up of supporters and opponents of the death penalty, all with extensive experience with the criminal justice s
Posted: September 15, 2006
Chief Judge William Wilkins of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit recently spoke about the death penalty to a gathering at the Charleston School of Law in South Carolina. He commented that decision-makers will have to evaluate whether the punishment is worth its increasing financial costs. But he also noted how difficult it is for a politician to speak openly about this issue: "I think politically, you're not going to find a candidate running on 'Let's do away with the death penalty,' " Wilkins said.
Posted: September 05, 2006
The death penalty is rarely sought in the city of Baltimore, but in adjoining Baltimore County almost every eligible case becomes a capital case. Presently, there are 7 active death-penalty cases in Baltimore County, more than the city of Baltimore has had overall in the past 2 decades. In addition to the different philosophies of the respective State's Attorneys, the costs of the death penalty are a significant factor. Prosecutors estimate that a death penalty case costs taxpayers $500,000, just for the trial and penalty phases. Donald Giblin, one of Baltimore's prosecutors, noted: &qu
Posted: May 19, 2006
An editorial in the Asbury Park Press, a newspaper that formerly supported capital punishment, called on New Jersey policymakers to abandon the state's costly death penalty and replace it with the "sure and swift" sentence of life without parole. Stating that New Jersey has wasted millions of dollars on the death penalty, but has not carried out an execution since it was reinstated in1982, the editorial noted:
Posted: May 03, 2006
Ronald George (pictured), Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, recently called the state's death penalty "dysfunctional" and criticized state lawmakers for their unwillingness to adequately fund the state's capital punishment system. The Justice noted that this refusal has been "a disservice to the administration of justice." George added, "I think that there are many, many things in the eyes of legislators that have greater priority. That's the problem.
Posted: March 13, 2006
According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, housing an inmate in California's corrections system costs an average of $34,150 per year, though that figure is higher for those on death row or serving a sentence of life-without-parole. In capital cases, a more expensive investigation and prosecution process, as well as long and complicated appeals, raises the costs significantly. Only about 1% of homicides in the state are tried as capital cases, but those cases cost taxpayers two to three times more than non-capital cases.
Posted: January 10, 2006
New Jersey lawmakers have voted to suspend executions in the state while a task force studies the fairness and costs of imposing capital punishment. After passing the Senate in December and the Assembly on January 9 by a vote of 55-21, the measure now goes to Governor Richard Codey for his signature into law. Codey has indicated that he will sign the bill, an act that will make New Jersey the first state to pass a death penalty moratorium into law through legislation.
