The economic impact of abolishing the death penalty would cut taxes in that area for the average tax payer. In Oregon, 61 executions cost taxpayers around 2.3 million dollars and as time goes on, that number rises. Overtime, death penalty costs have risen from about $274,200 in the 1980s to $1,783,200 in the 2000s. With the abolishment of the death penalty, these costs would no longer be a problem and tax payers wouldn't have to worry about paying this extra money.
In California, death penalty costs have totaled over $4 billion since 1978. It costs $1.94 billion for pre-trial and trial costs, $925 million for automatic appeals and state habeas corpus petitions, $775 million for federal habeas corpus appeals, and $1 billion for the costs of incarceration. These numbers could all change if the death penalty was abolished. |