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New Report Show that States Can't Afford the Death Penalty

By Tennessee Coalition to Abolish State Killing

"Thirty-five states still retain the death penalty, but fewer and fewer executions are taking place every year," said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). "But the overall death row population has remained relatively steady. At a time of budget shortfalls nationwide, the death penalty is turning into an expensive form of life without parole." Dieter made these comments to CNN today with the release of a new report, commissioned by DPIC, on the cost of the death penalty. The study found that death penalty costs can average $10 million more per year per state than life sentences. Increased costs include more security and guaranteed access to lengthy appeals. In 2007, the Tennessee State Comptrollers office testified to the legislative Committee to Study the Administration of the Death Penalty in Tennessee that the state has no way to know exactly what it is spending on the death penalty as it has no centralized way to track the data...continue to full post

Full post as published by tcask:: on the road (to abolition) on October 20, 2009 (boomark / email).