NCJ Number
143956
Date Published
1993
Length
143 pages
Annotation
This analysis of the costs of capital punishment in North Carolina focused on the relative costs of adjudicating murder cases capitally and noncapitally.
Abstract
The research focused on the extra costs borne by State and county government agencies to adjudicate these cases, minus the savings in imprisonment costs. Data were gathered on a large sample of murder trials in six prosecutorial districts, data on specific cases in other districts, data from appellate court personnel on the amount of time devoted to direct appeals of murder cases, prison costs. Results revealed that the extra costs of adjudicating murder cases capitally, as compared with a noncapital adjudication that results in conviction for first degree murder and a 20-year prison term, is about $329,000, which is substantially more than the estimated $166,000 savings in prison costs. The extra cost per death penalty imposed is more than $250,000, and the cost per execution exceeds $2 million, assuming that 10 percent of defendants sentenced to death are ultimately executed. Findings indicated that as currently implemented, the death penalty cannot be justified solely on the grounds of economy. Tables, figures, chapter notes, and appended methodological information and additional results