Should We Put the Death Penalty on the Chopping Block?
| Jurisdiction | Utah,United States |
| Citation | Vol. 22 No. 5 Pg. 24 |
| Pages | 24 |
| Publication year | 2009 |
Vol. 22, No. 5, 24. Should We Put the death Penalty on the Chopping Block?
Vol. 22, No.5
Sep/Oct 2009
Deaths due to violence are always tragic. Most especially affected are the victims' families. And, in a broader sense, all of us are diminished.
Some homicides have aggravating factors that allow them to be charged under Utah's aggravated murder statute. See Utah Code Ann. § 76-5-202 (2009). Inherent in every aggravated murder case is the critical moral question of whether or not to seek the death penalty. New Jersey repealed its death penalty in 2007 and replaced it with a maximum sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole, as did New Mexico in 2009. Bills to abolish the death penalty are also pending in a few other states.
Is it time for Utah to reconsider its death penalty? This article does not purport to be an exhaustive scholarly analysis, but is meant to provoke discussion. The article discusses seven questions that we in Utah's bar, state policy makers, and citizens should consider in addressing the issue of the death penalty, including: (1) Is the high cost of seeking the death penalty justified given its infrequent use?; (2) What are the moral implications of intentional killing by the state?; (3) How does religious doctrine affect the decision to kill?; (4) Is there a danger of executing innocent defendants?; (5) Is the death penalty imposed in an arbitrary or discriminatory manner?; (6) How are victims' rights impacted by the lengthy death penalty process?; and (7) Is life without parole a viable alternative to the death penalty?
Question No. 1: Is the high cost of seeking the death penalty justified given its infrequent use?
The current economic crisis has resulted in massive governmental budget shortfalls. Governor Jon Huntsman's recommendations for the 2010 budget constitute a 36.9% reduction from the Authorized Fiscal Year 2009 budget, a reduction of almost $467 million. See Office of the Governor, State of Utah, Budget Recommendations, Fiscal Year 2010, at 162 (Dec. 4, 2008), available at http:// governor.utah.gov/budget (follow "2010 Budget Recommendation Book" hyperlink) (last visited June 1, 2009).
The costs of successfully executing a criminal defendant are staggering. Data compiled for more than 25 years in virtually all of the states studied consistently show that the death penalty costs millions more than keeping someone in prison for life. See Jonathan E. Gradess, Andrew L. B. Davies, The Cost of theDeath Penalty in america: Directions for Future research, THE FUTURE OF AMERICA'S DEATH PENALTY: AN AGENDA FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT RESEARCH 411 (Carolina Academic Press, Eds. Charles S. Lanier, William J. Bowers, James R. Acker, 2009) (hereinafter "America's Death Penalty"). For example, a 2005 study by New Jersey concluded that the death penalty had additional costs amounting to $4.2 million per death sentence, or $28 million per death sentence after reversals. See id. at 404. Kansas found that the additional costs to seeking a death penalty were over $4.26 million per execution. See id. In Maryland, the Urban Institute reported that a case resulting in a death sentence cost $3 million, almost $2 million more per case than when the death penalty was not sought, and $37.2 million for each execution. See Death Penalty Information Center, http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penalty(last visited June 1, 2009). Why is the death penalty so much more expensive than life in prison? Death penalty prosecutions cost more because the consequences of error and procedural unfairness are magnified when life is in the balance; thus, courts have imposed stringent due process protections. See Woodson v. n. Carolina, 428 U.S. 280, 305 (1976). The American Bar Association has promulgated the American Bar Association Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Counsel in Death Penalty Cases, Revised Edition (February 2003), available at http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/downloads/ (last visited June 1, 2009) (hereinafter "ABA Guidelines"). And appellate courts often reverse convictions or remand cases for re-sentencing where the guidelines are not followed. See e.g., rompilla v. Beard, 545 U.S. 374, 387 (2005).
The trials and appeals required in capital cases can take over a decade. The costs of each of these proceedings are broken down in more detail below.
Trial Level Costs
Death penalty cases typically involve additional investigative costs, more numerous pretrial motions, and a far lengthier jury selection process and trial than non-death penalty cases. Recent studies indicate that several thousand hours are typically required to provide appropriate representation in death penalty cases. See ABA Guidelines, at 40.
Moreover, death penalty cases require a mitigation investigation, including the collection of all medical, educational, and employment records of the defendant. Records relating to members of the defendant's extended family may also be important. Multiple interviews of the defendant's family, friends, employers, school teachers, and others are standard, and require travel to wherever they live. The chairman of the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers' Capital Case Committee estimated that an adequate mitigation investigation requires 800-1000 hours.
Appellate Costs
The appeal process for capital cases is far more extensive and costly than...
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