CRM/LAW C165 Lecture Notes - Lecture 22: Double-Spending, American Civil Liberties Union
30 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Cost: California as Case Study
• Northern Cal. ACLU Study (2008)
o $117 million/year in post-conviction litigation costs
o $90,000/year/inmate marginal costs for housing on death row
o $4 billion total marginal costs of housing current death row population
until death of execution or natural causes
o marginal trial costs ~$1.1 million/trial
o total marginal trial costs ~$22 million/year
o total costs ~$139 million/year
▪ =2,500 teachers of 2,250 CHP officers
• CA Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice (2008)
o created 2004
o in response to exonerations, including from death row
o prosecutors, defense attorneys, scholars, community leaders, judges,
police chiefs
• CCFAJ DP recommendations
o “dysfunctional”
o time from sentence to execution is double national average 24 years
o more funding for both lawyers
▪ defense
▪ prosecution
▪ appeals
o need to double spending
• cost
o current cost: $137 million/year
o repaired DP: $232 million/year
o narrower DP: $130 million/year
o LWOP: $11.5 million/year
• CCFAJ major administrative recommendations
o transfer cases from Supreme Court to Courts of Appeal
o allow more habeas hearings
o create a DP review panel
o collect data on DP charging
o greater transparency about DP charging decisions
• Alarcon & Mitchell study (2011)
o since 1978, $4 billion + 13 executions
o $184 million/year
o DR = 714, most wait 20 years
o for every expansion of death penalty, cost was described by Legislative
Analyst in voter guides as “none”, “unknown,” “indeterminable,” or
“minor”
o $4 billion
▪ pre-trial + trial = $1.94 billion
▪ direct appeals + state habeas = $925 million
▪ federal habeas = $775 million
▪ incarceration = $1 billion ($70 million/year since 1978)
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