The cost of death row in the USA: higher than you think

An recent editorial in the New York Times reveals the immense economic drain on state governments generated by the death penalty.

States in the US waste millions of dollars on trials and lengthy appeals in death penalty cases. Reviewing those costs, the editorial argues that "Money spent on death rows could be spent on police officers, courts, public defenders, legal service agencies and prison cells".

For example:

• In Florida, keeping inmates on death row costs tax payers $51 million a year more than holding them for life without parole;
• North Carolina has put 43 people to death since 1976, translating into an average of $2.16 million per execution;
• Death row costs $114 million a year to California beyond the cost of imprisoning the convicts  for life.

These figures are often mentioned to show how unsustainable the cost of the death penalty  in the US is.

Less talked about is the additional cost of wrongful convictions: that is the compensation which the States must offer to the people who have spent years on death row before eventually being exonerated.

For example:

• As reported by the Final Report of the New York State Bar Association, Texas can pay  $100 000 for each year of incarceration (maximum compensation: $500 000) for a person wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death  (that represents the double of what it would be for a person wrongfully convicted but not sentenced to death). 
• Utah gives a minimum of $40 000 compensation for each year incarcerated, $70 000 for each year on death row
• Pennsylvania gives $50 000 for each year spent on death row (with no maximum).

However, some exonerated prisoners have walked out of prison with nothing more than the clothes on their back.  After years of wrongful incarceration, they are forced to start from scratch in an unfamiliar world.

Clarence Brandley, who was on death row in Texas for a murder conviction scarred by prosecutorial misconduct and blatant racism, encountered immediate financial meltdown when he walked out of prison in 1990.

Despite Brandley’s inability to earn any money during his nine years on death row, the state saddled him with a huge debt for child support back-payments, and also tacked on the interest that had accumulated during his incarceration. Incredibly, the Texas Attorney General’s Office claimed that "special circumstances"—namely, that Brandley was sentenced to death and in prison for a crime he did not commit—did not supercede his responsibility to make the payments.

Brandley said he could not help but point out that the state had robbed him of nine years of income, and given him no compensation upon his release. "The state is still garnishing my wages," he said, "and it’s just not right. I still owe $22,364."

So far (as of September 30th, 2009) 135 people have been exonerated from death row since 1973, whilst 1175 executions have taken place during that period, thus suggesting a error rate of 11.5%.

With 3300 inmates currently on death row, one cannot avoid the fact that many more millions must be spent in the future - not just on trials and appeals, but also on compensating exonerated prisoners for wasting years of their lives.