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Notable local tales on the costs of seeking the punishment of death

By Douglas A. Berman

Two local stories today from two states with notable and dynamic track records with the death penalty provide a window into some of the economic realities that surround efforts to implement the ultimate punishment. First, consider this piece from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which is headlined "State can't afford to defend Gwinnett capital murder case."  Here is how it starts: Gwinnett County prosecutors want the death penalty for a Vietnamese immigrant accused of killing a Lilburn man and his 2-year-old son by shooting each in the back of the head. But the case, now four years old, is stalled because the state cannot fund Khan Dinh Phan?s defense. Now before the Georgia Supreme Court are these pressing questions: Can the state seek to put a man to death if the state can?t afford to defend him? Can the trial judge strike the prosecution?s motion to seek the death penalty or, even more extreme, dismiss all charges because the state doesn?t have the money to represent the accused? The Supreme Court?s answer to Phan?s pre-trial appeal could have profound implications for the death penalty in Georgia, which is in the throes of a prolonged budget crisis and has struggled to fully fund its nascent public defender system...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on August 23, 2009 (boomark / email).