Death Penalty Stats

8 Pages 1975 Words

This report addresses the cost, availability and quality of defense representation in federal death penalty cases and recommends steps which should be taken in order to keep expenditures in these cases within reasonable limits. It has been prepared by the Subcommittee on Federal Death Penalty Cases of the Judicial Conference Committee on Defender Services. The report was prompted by judicial and congressional concerns about the costs involved in providing defense services in federal death penalty cases and is the product of extensive study and data collection.
Federal death penalty prosecutions are large-scale cases that are costly to defend. They require more lawyers, working more hours, at a higher hourly rate than other federal criminal matters. The number of federal death penalty prosecutions has grown dramatically in the last several years, and their impact on the defender services appropriation cannot responsibly be ignored. The judiciary has a duty to ensure that its funds are spent wisely, and to identify the best ways to provide cost-effective representation in these challenging cases.
To this end, the Subcommittee has thoroughly examined the nature of defense representation in federal death penalty cases. Part I of this report sets forth the Subcommittee's analysis and findings, which are based upon qualitative and quantitative information gathered from many sources. This part of the report describes the number of federal death penalty cases and the cost of defending them, and discusses the characteristics of federal death penalty cases and the special duties they impose on defense counsel. This information is essential to a full understanding of the recommendations set forth in Part II of the report. Also contained in Part I are data on the expense of prosecuting federal death penalty cases, which have been provided by the Department of Justice.
In general, the Subcommittee on Federal Death Penalty Cases has concluded ...