|
Trial costs vary in death penalty cases The capital murder trial of Jason Smith — convicted this month of a quadruple homicide in Belleville — is expected to cost Illinois taxpayers more than $800,000. That dwarfs the sum Missouri paid for two separate death penalty trials last year for Kevin Johnson, convicted of killing Kirkwood police Sgt. William McEntee. The Illinois figure is based on estimates from prosecutors and defense attorneys, as well as preliminary figures from the state. The final tally for the trial, which concluded Feb. 1, is not yet in. By comparison, expenses in Kevin Johnson's trials last year in St. Louis County were minimal — $27,073 for his first trial, which ended in a mistrial, and $18,721 for his second. Death penalty cases tend to be costly in Illinois. Death penalty defendants have the right to two private attorneys with capital murder trial experience, with the state paying them up to $148 an hour each; plus expert witnesses, forensics and other expenses. The state's capital litigation trust fund pays some prosecution expenses, but the bulk of the money is typically distributed to the defense. An Illinois jury convicted Smith on four counts of first-degree murder and opted to sentence him to life in prison. Prosecutors had argued the death penalty was the "only appropriate sentence" for Smith after his October 2005 shotgun rampage at a Belleville apartment, which left four dead, including a baby. So far, Smith's defense attorneys, John O'Gara and Cory Easton, have been paid about $240,000 combined from a special state fund for such cases; however, neither has been paid since the end of 2007. A private investigator for the defense, Alva Busch, testified that he has been paid $75,000 to $100,000 for his work. Other major expenses include about $100,000 for another investigative service and $116,000 on medical, DNA and forensic services. Those charges were for the defense. By comparison, the state has billed the fund about $15,000, mostly for DNA testing. The state attorney's office does not bill for prosecutors' salaries. The bills go to the Illinois Capital Litigation Trust Fund. The fund was established in 1999 after the convictions of 13 inmates on Illinois' death row were overturned. Former Gov. George Ryan declared a freeze on all executions, which remains in place today, in hopes of reforming the system. Despite the freeze, prosecutors can, as St. Clair County State's Attorney Robert Haida did in the Smith case, continue to press for the death penalty. "That's what this fund is there for," Haida said. Such cases are usually less costly in Missouri, mainly because defendants are represented by attorneys from the Missouri Public Defender's Capital Litigation unit. Karen Kraft, its director, and Robert Steele represented Johnson. They are among more than a dozen salaried employees in three offices whose sole role is to try death penalty cases throughout Missouri. Other public employees on salary in the Johnson trials were Judge Melvyn W. Wiesman and St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch, who tried the case, along with assistants Patrick Monahan and Sheila Whirley. Both sides had investigators involved in the case. They, too, were paid through state or county salaries. The first jury, in April, was unable to decide between first- and second-degree murder, and Wiesman declared a mistrial. In November, the second jury convicted Johnson, 22, of Kirkwood, of first-degree murder and recommended the death penalty. A major expense for both Johnson trials was sequestering the jurors. That included hotel rooms and meals for the jurors and the sheriff's deputies who watched over them; transportation to and from the courthouse; and comp time for the deputies. Missouri requires juries to be sequestered in capital cases. The official expense report for the first trial for those categories totaled $27,073, according to St. Louis County Sheriff's Department records. The costs of the second trial are being tabulated but are expected to run slightly less because the trial was about two days shorter. Kraft said Missouri has a special expense fund for all homicide cases, not just death penalty cases. Uses can include hiring lawyers when a conflict would prevent a public defender from trying a case. The state fund for the current fiscal year, she said, is $3.3 million. Kraft said a developmental psychologist, Dan Levin of University City, testified as a defense expert witness in the Johnson trial, but Levin had examined Johnson at an earlier stage in his life on behalf of the Division of Family Services. That agency picked up Levin's trial expenses. |
