NEW VOICES: Republican Senator Says Kansas Death Penalty ​“Too Costly”

Senator Carolyn McGinn of Kansas (pic­tured) recent­ly pub­lished an op-ed call­ing for an end to the death penal­ty because it is too cost­ly and does not ben­e­fit the peo­ple. Sen. McGinn, a Republican from Sedgwick, is the spon­sor of a bill that would replace the death penal­ty with a sen­tence of life with­out parole. She explained that in light of the state’s bud­get deficit, Kansas is look­ing at ways to reduce gov­ern­ment spend­ing. ​“One pol­i­cy change being con­sid­ered is whether the death penal­ty is worth its high­er cost to Kansas cit­i­zens, ver­sus the alter­na­tive sen­tence of life in prison with­out parole we now have on the books,” she wrote. She point­ed to a Kansas leg­isla­tive report that found ​“the esti­mat­ed medi­an cost of a case in which the death sen­tence was giv­en was about 70% more than the medi­an cost of a non-death penal­ty mur­der case.” Senator McGinn’s full op-ed may be read below:

Through such state audits, reports, and tes­ti­mo­ny, McGinn learned, ​“This added cost is a result of inves­ti­ga­tion, length­i­er tri­als and the high­er cost and fre­quen­cy of appeals. The appeals process is man­dat­ed by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Constitution. The state of Kansas can do lit­tle to reduce these costs, which are built into cas­es involv­ing capital punishment.”

Death Penalty Too Costly, Not Deterrent

Senator Carolyn McGinn

Because of the state’s bud­get deficit, state leg­is­la­tors are look­ing at how we fund gov­ern­ment today and in the future. We are con­sid­er­ing bills that would con­sol­i­date and restruc­ture agen­cies, as well as pol­i­cy deci­sions that would reduce government spending.

One pol­i­cy change being con­sid­ered is whether the death penal­ty is worth its high­er cost to Kansas cit­i­zens, ver­sus the alter­na­tive sen­tence of life in prison with­out parole we now have on the books.

Since Kansas placed the death penal­ty on the books in 1994, not one per­son has been exe­cut­ed. Kansas has not exe­cut­ed any­one since 1965. The Kansas Legislature passed a mea­sure in 2004 cre­at­ing the sen­tence of life without parole.

In 2003, a Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit report found that the esti­mat­ed medi­an cost of a case in which the death sen­tence was giv­en was about 70 per­cent more than the medi­an cost of a non-death penal­ty mur­der case. This report includ­ed infor­ma­tion pro­vid­ed by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Board of Indigents’ Defense Services, and local courts, pros­e­cu­tors and law enforcement officers.

In tes­ti­mo­ny Friday in Topeka, Pat Scalia of the Board of Indigents’ Defense Services stat­ed that since the re-enact­ment of the death penal­ty, 107 cas­es were filed with charges under the cap­i­tal mur­der statute. To date, 26 death penal­ty tri­als have been com­plet­ed, 12 result­ing in the death sen­tence. The cost for the defense through Feb. 23 was $19.9 million.

This added cost is a result of inves­ti­ga­tion, length­i­er tri­als and the high­er cost and fre­quen­cy of appeals. The appeals process is man­dat­ed by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Constitution. The state of Kansas can do lit­tle to reduce these costs, which are built into cas­es involv­ing capital punishment.

Because of the emo­tion­al impact, this change in pol­i­cy can­not be total­ly weighed in dol­lars. This is why Senate Bill 208 has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. At its pub­lic hear­ing Thursday, sen­a­tors heard tes­ti­mo­ny demon­strat­ing the incon­sis­ten­cy, inef­fec­tive­ness and the greater fis­cal and emo­tion­al bur­dens of the death penalty system.

The com­mit­tee also heard much tes­ti­mo­ny dis­put­ing the wide­ly held belief that the death penal­ty acts as a deter­rent to vio­lent crime. The American Society of Criminology sur­veyed crim­i­nol­o­gists about their thoughts regard­ing whether the death penal­ty was a deter­rent to crimes, and the vast major­i­ty respond­ed that it was not a deter­rent. Further, the life-with­out-parole sen­tence has giv­en the state an effec­tive alter­na­tive to ensure the most heinous crim­i­nals are nev­er able to endan­ger society again.

Having this dis­cus­sion in no way dimin­ish­es the pain and grief that vic­tims and fam­i­ly mem­bers go through. Nor does it indi­cate that those on death row are not deserv­ing of dying in prison. It does cause one to ask whether lethal injec­tion is worse than being forced to live life in iso­la­tion until death.

(C. McGinn, ​“Death Penalty Too Costly,” The Wichita Eagle, March 1, 2009). The same paper fea­tures anoth­er opin­ion piece by the State’s Attorney General in favor of the death penal­ty. The Kansas Senate Judiciary Committee vot­ed to send the abo­li­tion bill to the full sen­ate on Mar. 5. See New Voices, Costs, and Recent Legislation.