Balkan Studies | Info

The United States' stance on humanitarian rights has come under fire in recent years due to the situations in places such as Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. A consistent point of contention during these discussions is the practice of capital punishment. Many arguments have been made for using executions as a punitive measure on moralistic, deterrent, and victim's rights levels. However, the oft forgotten aspect of the system is the cost of executing a convicted murderer and small number of executions that actually take place.

Statistics On Execution Costs

According to the Death Penalty Information Center the cost of each federal murder case where capital punishment is sought is eight times the cost of a murder case where the death penalty is not sought. Across the country, the cost of executing a convicted murder averages around $200,000 to $600,000 dollars depending on the individual appeals process, but often exceeds that amount. In Maryland a study released by the Urban Institute concluded that the state had payed 37.2 million for each of the five executions since 1978.

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