Sections 3 and 4 discuss Irelandâs crash, examining the popping of the housing bubble, its fiscal. implications and the banking crisis. In contrast to some discussions of this crisis, I emphasize that. Irelandâs huge build-up of debt was not predominantly due to its banking crisis.
The alarming cost of the death penalty. Many people believe that the death penalty is more cost-effective than housing and feeding someone in prison for life. In reality, the death penaltyâs complexity, length, and finality drive costs through the roof, making it much more expensive. More than a dozen states have found that death penalty cases are up to 10 times more expensive than comparable non-death penalty cases. 2  The most rigorous cost study in the country found that a single death sentence in Maryland costs almost $2 million more than a comparable non-death penalty case.
The state's 714 death row prisoners cost $184 million more per year than those sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. A death penalty prosecution costs up to 20 times as much as a life-without-parole case. The least expensive death penalty trial costs $1.1 million more than the most expensive life-without-parole case. Jury selection in a capital case runs three to four weeks longer and costs $200,000 more than in life-without-parole cases.