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The costs of the death penalty in Maryland

By Douglas A. Berman

Thanks to this post at How Appealing, I see that the Baltimore Sun has this notable article headlined "Death penalty costs Md. more than life term."  Here are excerpts:The death penalty has cost Maryland taxpayers at least $186 million more in prosecuting and defending capital murder cases over two decades than would have been spent without the threat of execution, according to a study to be released today. In addition, because most death sentences in Maryland are overturned and eventually reduced to life without parole, state residents are often saddled with the high cost of a capital case and the bill for housing a convicted killer for life, the study found. Paid for by the Baltimore-based Abell Foundation and prepared by the Urban Institute, a national, nonpartisan research organization in Washington, the study estimates that the cost of reaching a single death sentence costs the state an average of $3 million, which is $1...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on March 06, 2008 (boomark / email).