Fair Trial Process

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We live in a republic, where we have a voice on government and pay taxes to help keep aspects of our society we want to keep. These tax dollars can go to a number of places including education, architecture, social service programs, and to keep criminals off the street. In the matter of the justice system, the cost of giving a fair trial and paying for incarceration of individuals gets expensive. For capital punishment, the trial must be given in two-stages, thus increasing the amount of money needed for the trial to occur. In a state where the death penalty is active, a capital punishment trial can cost the state at least $100,000.00 more than if it were a regular murder trial (Dieter). The two-stage trial is a mandate from the federal government …show more content…

This process includes the criminal trying to get the sentence appealed by having another court look at the trial and decide if a legal mistake was made, and if the sentence should be withheld. This entire process continues for years, while the criminal sits on death row costing taxpayers double the amount it does to house an ordinary inmate (Erb). When the appeals process is over, the criminal is faced with their “last-meal” and is sent to their death-bed to endure the lethal injection of medication designed to stop their heart and lungs, This concoction of medication costs anywhere from $600.00 to $1500.00, plus a couple million on the pre-trial and appeals process costs (Safdar). For terms of total financing: “In Texas, a death penalty case costs taxpayers an average of $2.3 million, about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years” (Dieter). In the state of New York, implementing the death penalty would cost $118 million annually due to the rising costs of the medications, appeals, and the trial and counsel needed. This money could be given to restore roads and public services, or even implement a new public service

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