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Recession May Kill Pricey Death Penalty

Worried about legal costs, states consider abolition

By Gabriel Winant,  Newser User

Posted Feb 25, 2009 10:42 AM CST
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(Newser) – Death and taxes may always be with us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t fiddle with them. Specifically, as the recession decreases tax revenue for states, some are considering abolishing the death penalty, which can cost millions. “And we can’t afford that, when there are better and cheaper ways to reduce crime,” Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley tells the New York Times.

Maryland, Montana, and New Mexico are thought to have a good chance of passing bills abolishing the practice, while Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and New Hampshire are considering it, too. But some say there would be hidden costs. Asks one prosecutor, “How do you put a price tag on crimes that don’t happen because threat of the death penalty deters them?”

Florida's lethal injection gurney is shown in an undated handout photo taken in the redesigned death chamber which will accommodate either the electric chair or the gurney at Florida State Prison.
Florida's lethal injection gurney is shown in an undated handout photo taken in the redesigned death chamber which will accommodate either the electric chair or the gurney at Florida State Prison.   (AP Photo/Fla. Dept. of Corrections, File)
Ricky Bell, then the warden at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tenn., gives a tour of the prison's execution chamber in 1999.
Ricky Bell, then the warden at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tenn., gives a tour of the prison's execution chamber in 1999.   (AP Photo)
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has added the drag on state budgets to his ideological opposition to the death penalty.
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has added the drag on state budgets to his ideological opposition to the death penalty.   (AP Photo)
Missouri death row inmate Dennis Skillicorn poses for a portrait in 2008.
Missouri death row inmate Dennis Skillicorn poses for a portrait in 2008.   (AP Photo)
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It makes perfect sense that states are trying to spend their criminal justice budgets better, and that the first place they look to do a cost-benefit analysis is the death penalty. - Eric M. Freedman, death-penalty expert
at Hofstra Law school

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 9 comments
Guest
Mar 1, 2009 7:17 PM CST
If found guilty, just take them behind the courthouse and shoot em
oldgoat
Feb 26, 2009 2:31 AM CST
Kansas is considering dropping the death penalty since they haven't carried it out in something like 25 years anyway. They claim that it costs more to go through all the trials than to just put in jail for life. I do believe that the death penalty has a place in a limited manner and with DNA now it is less likely to execute the wrong person. However if we do away with the death penalty it ought to be life without parole and no outside contact. Put them in a 6 x 8 cell by themselves without TV, books or internet and let them think about what they did.
Guest
Feb 25, 2009 9:02 PM CST
Unfortunately without a thorough appeal process more innocents would end up being put to death. The actual administration of the injection in itself is very costly though, a bullet would definitely be more economical.

New Jersey threw out its death penalty in December '07
New York Times

Meanwhile, Alaskans are bringing theirs back
Associated Press

 
death penalty • execution • capital punishment • recession • criminal justice system • financial crisis

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