Notable local tales on the costs of seeking the punishment of death

Two local stories today from two states with notable and dynamic track records with the death penalty provide a window into some of the economic realities that surround efforts to implement the ultimate punishment.

First, consider this piece from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which is headlined "State can't afford to defend Gwinnett capital murder case."  Here is how it starts:

Gwinnett County prosecutors want the death penalty for a Vietnamese immigrant accused of killing a Lilburn man and his 2-year-old son by shooting each in the back of the head. But the case, now four years old, is stalled because the state cannot fund Khan Dinh Phan’s defense.

Now before the Georgia Supreme Court are these pressing questions: Can the state seek to put a man to death if the state can’t afford to defend him? Can the trial judge strike the prosecution’s motion to seek the death penalty or, even more extreme, dismiss all charges because the state doesn’t have the money to represent the accused?

The Supreme Court’s answer to Phan’s pre-trial appeal could have profound implications for the death penalty in Georgia, which is in the throes of a prolonged budget crisis and has struggled to fully fund its nascent public defender system.

Similarly, consider this piece from the Arizona Daily Star, which is headlined "Justice for killer costly for taxpayers."  Here is how it begins:

By the time convicted double murderer Robert Moody, 50, is resentenced in December, his victims will have been dead 16 years and Pima County taxpayers will have spent more than $500,000 ensuring that his civil rights were protected.

David Berkman, Pima County's chief criminal deputy county attorney, said county prosecutors reserve the death penalty "only for the worst of the worst" killers, and only make that decision after a panel of experienced attorneys discusses whether the facts of the case indicate seeking a death penalty is appropriate. And Berkman noted those discussions never involve the potential cost of such cases.

But Pima County Public Defender Robert Hirsh says that even though the course that Moody's case took over the years was unique, the case is a good example of the foolishness of seeking the death penalty. "What Mr. Moody did was reprehensible. He killed two innocent people absolutely without any justification, but what difference does it make to try and kill him?" Hirsh asked.

Some recent related posts on the costs of capital punsihment:

• Georgia struggles to pay for a costly capital system
• The challenging economics of death causing problems in Chicago
• Great new (though still dated) examination of the death penalty and plea bargaining
• CNN now talking about the costs of the death penalty and state reforms 
• States considering laying off the death penalty during tough economic times
• The economic case against the death penalty getting more and more attention
• More discussion of cost concerns in debates over the death penalty
• Capital case cost concerns continue to inform reform debate
• Still more discussion of the costs of the death penalty
• "Opponents Focus On Cost In Death Penalty Debate"
• What might 2009 have in store for . . . the death penalty in the US?