The Cost of Death

One of the most popular arguments against the death penalty is the high cost of incarceration for inmates sentenced to life without parole. Many think that because a person is being supported for life in our prisons, it means that it costs more money to keep them alive than to simply end their lives. However, recent studies show that this is not the case.

While the actual cost of death is quite low, the process of sentencing a person to death and their time in court is significantly costs much more than sentencing someone to life in prison. This can also be seen in the image above - a study by the Urban Institute indicates that cases where the death sentence is not sought costs, on average, around $2,000,000 less than a person receiving the death sentence. These added costs are in the areas of attorney pay, hiring experts, the potential unpredictability of the case, mitigation investigations, juries, and housing.

Clearly, the life sentence is quite a bit cheaper in the long run, and arguments against it often have little evidence to back it up. It also wouldn't be possible to lower these costs, as doing so could compromise a person's right to justice and a fair trial, especially when their life is on the line (not to mention the death penalty itself is hardly just anyway).

For more facts and information regarding the cost of the death penalty, this site provides valuable information, including how these high costs can affect other measures of crime control. Money spent on the death penalty is less money spent in other important areas, which should definitely be funded before funding a person's execution.

This image also gives another look at the costs of the death penalty from a study in July 2012, specifically in California, a state where the death penalty is legal: