County Judge Michael P. Donnelly, a member of Ohio’s Death Penalty Task Force appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, recently called the costs of capital trials “astronomical.” He went on to say that a county’s budget may be a factor in decisions to seek the death penalty: “[W]ith 88 different prosecutors who have complete discretion on whether to pursue it or not, and you have to draw the inference that, in some counties, it’s not pursued because it’s just not economically feasible.” For example, Summit County is facing a 15% overrun of its court indigent defense budget because of five cases in which prosecutors sought the death penalty this year. The most recent capital trial cost the county $102,715, lasted nearly two months, and ended in a sentence of life without parole. Court officials said an aggravated murder case without death penalty charges typically costs $15,000 to $20,000 and lasts only two weeks. The judge added, “There’s no way you can look at the way [the death penalty is] applied in Ohio and draw the conclusion that it’s fair, or that it’s accomplishing what it purports to do — and that is, deliver the most severe punishment to the worst of the worst. It’s just not taking place.”

(E. Meyer, “Death-penalty cases involving Summit County indigents strain the budget,” Akron Beacon Journal, October 3, 2014). See Costs and New Voices.

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