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Costs of capital punishment getting the spotlight in Connecticut case

By Douglas A. Berman

As detailed in this local article, which is headlined "Steven Hayes Defense Outlines High Cost Of Putting Someone To Death," the significant economic costs of capital punishment has moved from policy debate into a legal argument in one high-profile case.  Here are the interesting details: Steven Hayes' defense attorneys, in a bid to spare his life, say they have evidence that counters "the popular assumption that the cost of executing someone saves the state money" compared with a life sentence. They cite reports that offer these statistics: In Tennessee, death sentences in murder cases cost 48 percent more than life sentences. In Washington state, death penalty cases cost $470,000 more in defense and prosecution costs than non-capital murder cases...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on October 13, 2010 (boomark / email).