Every stage of a capital case is more time consuming and expensive than in a typical case. Cost incurred to administer the death penalty includes incarceration cost, trial cost, and an expensive appeals process. Almost all people facing the death penalty cannot afford their own attorney, so the state must assign them two public defenders, and pay for the costs of the prosecution as well. Experts will probably be needed on forensic evidence, mental health and the social history of the defendant. To minimize mistakes, every inmate is entitled to a series of appeals. The costs are borne at taxpayers ' expense. These appeals are essential because some inmates have been on death row when evidence was uncovered proving their innocence. There are also two trials instead of one, one for guilt and one for punishment. Each case can last up to several years. And while all of this is taking place, the inmates are held in a high security prison, so the state pays the cost of life imprisonment on top of the expensive trial. If the death penalty was replaced with life in prison without parole, which costs less and also ensures that the public is protected while eliminating the risk of executing innocent people, the money saved could be spent on programs that actually improve the communities in which we
Every stage of a capital case is more time consuming and expensive than in a typical case. Cost incurred to administer the death penalty includes incarceration cost, trial cost, and an expensive appeals process. Almost all people facing the death penalty cannot afford their own attorney, so the state must assign them two public defenders, and pay for the costs of the prosecution as well. Experts will probably be needed on forensic evidence, mental health and the social history of the defendant. To minimize mistakes, every inmate is entitled to a series of appeals. The costs are borne at taxpayers ' expense. These appeals are essential because some inmates have been on death row when evidence was uncovered proving their innocence. There are also two trials instead of one, one for guilt and one for punishment. Each case can last up to several years. And while all of this is taking place, the inmates are held in a high security prison, so the state pays the cost of life imprisonment on top of the expensive trial. If the death penalty was replaced with life in prison without parole, which costs less and also ensures that the public is protected while eliminating the risk of executing innocent people, the money saved could be spent on programs that actually improve the communities in which we