New Mexico Death Penalty Costs: Another Adventure Into Deception
Dudley Sharp
The anti death penalty folks just can't stop.
Not only did the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) fail to
look at either their own death penalty or LWOP costs, instead, they used North
Carolina's misleading cost study (1), which had zero relevance to New Mexico,
and the LFC failed to fact check that NC study, which actually found LWOP to be
more expensive than the death penalty (1), the opposite of what the LFC
stated.
Just another anti death penalty norm (2).
LFC:
"Although a study has (never) been done in New Mexico on the total costs of a death penalty case to the state (including the prosecution, the public defender, and the extensive drain on court resources.), a recent Duke University study done on North Carolina’s costs found that the death penalty costs North Carolina $2.16 million dollars per execution over a system that imposes life imprisonment." (2)
Complete utter nonsense, of course.
The North Carolina study (1) found LWOP to be much more expensive than the death penalty.
"Although a study has (never) been done in New Mexico on the total costs of a death penalty case to the state (including the prosecution, the public defender, and the extensive drain on court resources.), a recent Duke University study done on North Carolina’s costs found that the death penalty costs North Carolina $2.16 million dollars per execution over a system that imposes life imprisonment." (2)
Complete utter nonsense, of course.
The North Carolina study (1) found LWOP to be much more expensive than the death penalty.
1) "Duke (North Carolina) Death Penalty Cost
Study: Let's be honest"
2) F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T, HB 285, Abolish Death Penalty, Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) , New Mexico Legislature, 1/31/09,
http://www.nmlegis.gov/sessions/09%20Regular/firs/HB0285.pdf
http://www.nmlegis.gov/sessions/09%20Regular/firs/HB0285.pdf
