Tax dollars add up quickly in death penalty cases and typically state and local governments bear the burden of costs.
The Now KC talked with a local criminal defense lawyer, Paul Crammto learn more about what factors into the cost behind death row.
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Death Row Life Sentence Trial Defense $395,762 $98,963 Court Costs $72,530 $21,554 Guilty Plea $130,595 $64,711 Incarceration $130,595 $64,711 Appeals: 20x more hours are spent on death row than non-death row appeals.
*Figures from the Kansas Judicial Council Death Penalty Advisory Committee (Feb. 2014).
In Kansas, housing prisoners on death row costs more than twice as much per year ($49,380) as it does for prisoners in general population ($24,690).
The death penalty is more expensive than life without parole because the Constitution requires a complex judicial process for capital cases.
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Alyson Bruner can be reached at alyson.bruner@kshb.com.
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