County administrators in Washington state say a single death penalty case could cause bankruptcy in their county. Court costs are paid at a county level, meaning a lengthy and expensive death penalty trial can seriously threaten the county’s ability to pay for other priorities. Jim Jones, the former president of the Washington County Administrative Association, said several counties told him, “If we had a death penalty case, and had to pay $1 million (in legal costs), we’d go bankrupt.” If the death penalty is not sought, such cases cost a lot less. In the late 1990’s, Okanogan County was forced to put a hold on all equipment purchases, including the replacement of worn-out police cars, in order to pay for one death penalty prosecution. Last year, the $1 million cost of a death penalty retrial caused a “budget emergency” in Clallam County. Two months into the process, the prosecutor decided to remove the death penalty as a possible sentence. Washington has a fund to defray “extraordinary criminal justice costs,” but counties typically receive only a small fraction of the reimbursement they request.

(J. Martin, “How the death penalty can bankrupt a county,” Seattle Times, February 18, 2014). See Costs and Arbitrariness.

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