(September 7, 2013 at 10:46 am)Captain Colostomy Wrote: I'm not shilling for the death penalty, but how does expense factor? I would think another 30+ years of three hots and a cot would cost more than the needle and the damage done.*
*Obligatory Neil Young reference.
That's not how it works, though. Going in, the minute the prosecution declares it is seeking a death verdict, defendant becomes eligible to have death-qualified counsel appointed. These guys are NOT cheap. Death cases are tried very differently than LWOP cases. The last death penalty case I did included the following expenses that would not have been included had the case proceeded as an LWOP:
1) Three defense attorneys, one death-qualified;
2) A change of venue to another county which included expenses to feed, house and transport all court staff (it was a pain in the ass living in 2 places for 4 months, I can tell you), defendant, attorneys, their support staff, etc.;
3) A death-qualified jury, meaning you have to find jurors who are willing to impose the death penalty if it is the jury's verdict (we went through nearly 2,000 prospective jurors, if I recall correctly);
4) Two phases of the trial, the guilt/innocence phase, and then the penalty phase.
In addition, the expert witnesses who were called to testify on both sides were massively expensive. One -- whose name may be known to you, Park Dietz -- cost $1,500 an hour, if memory serves.
These are costs that are NOT usually expended in a regular LWOP trial.
And this doesn't even count the costs of the MANDATORY appeals -- which are NOT mandatory in a regular LWOP trial.
So.... yes. The cost differences are massive. They are well documented for those who care to employ their own Google Fu.
