Democrat State Senator Joe Keaveny introduced Senate Bill 786 Monday, which would require state auditors to compare the cost of the death penalty with other sentences.
By Charles Minshew
He says the bill is about the cost of executions and not necessarily about the abolition of the death penalty.
“The purpose of the bill is to examine the situation where we seek the death penalty and to inform people of what this really costs us as taxpayers and as a state compared to other first degree murder cases,” Keaveny said.
Keaveny says he feels it is time to explore costs associated with executions instead of cutting funds from higher education and vital state programs. The bill sets a deadline for 2013 for a completed report, but Keaveny says the date could be changed as the bill moves forward.