Death penalty costs Nebr. about $14M annually, finds study commissioned by capital punishment foes

LINCOLN — Maintaining the death penalty costs Nebraska an extra $14.6 million a year, according to an estimate prepared for a group seeking to uphold the repeal of capital punishment.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who conducted the research, used U.S. Census Bureau statistics on criminal justice expenses per state and looked at reports done in other states to come up with what he called a “first of its kind” estimate.

Goss said additional trial expenses, years of legal appeals and the costs of housing inmates on death row are all well above the cost of cases in which the maximum sentence is life in prison without parole.

“I expected there to be little difference (in cost),” Goss said at a Monday press conference. “Now, I’m reconsidering my position on the death penalty.”

Read more: http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/death-penalty-costs-nebraska-about-million-annually-finds-study-commissioned/article_bafa1326-62f8-11e6-a99d-07bd5acef346.html