Post by CCADP on Apr 9, 2006 8:13:10 GMT -5
Bill making child rape a capital offense would cost $15 million
A news release e-mailed by the Tennessee House Republican Caucus on
Wednesday touted state Rep. Matthew Hill pushing legislation that would
elevate child rape from a felony to a capital offense punishable by death
or life imprisonment.
What the release didn't say is how much the bill would cost Tennessee
taxpayers.
Hill, R-Jonesborough, who is up for re-election this year, said in the
release that child rape has a devastating effect on children.
"Statistics show that by the time a child sexual offender is caught for
the first time, they have usually molested six to eight children," Hill
said in the release. "The monsters who commit this crime deserve the most
severe punishment meted out by our justice system."
According to the state's Fiscal Review Office (FRO), the bill would cost
taxpayers an estimated $14.2 million in incarceration expenses, nearly
$750,000 in recurring costs to hire new public defenders and prosecutors,
and a one-time expense of about $100,000 for new computer equipment.
"The state incurs substantial out-of-pocket expenses in death-sentence
trials and appeals," the FRO's fiscal note on the bill said. "These
include costs of appointed attorneys, expert witnesses, investigation and
related matters. These additional costs are estimated to exceed $750,000
in each case."
An average of 64 persons in Tennessee have been convicted of child rape in
each of the last 3 years, according to the Administrative Office of the
Courts. The average age of each offender is 39 years, and the life
expectancy of each offender is 70 years.
It currently costs the state about $50 a day to house an inmate. According
to FRO, people convicted of child rape currently serve an average of 20
years.
Hill said the bill - which moved out of a House Criminal Practice
Subcommittee on Tuesday - was brought to him by state Sen. Raymond Finney,
R-Maryville.
"He wanted to see if we could kind of get the debate started and move it
through the process," Hill said of Finney's plans for the bill, which is
headed to the House Judiciary Committee.
Lawmakers on the subcommittee were informed of a state corrections
oversight committee's comment - that the bill could increase the number of
death row defenders and significantly increase the state's demand for
prison beds. Tennessee Supreme Court rules also require the appointment of
two defense attorneys in each death penalty case.
Tennessee has over 100 people on death row, and more than 20 of them have
more than 2 death sentences, according to the Department of Corrections.
Tennessee has executed 1 inmate - Robert Glen Coe for rape and murder - in
the past 45 years. The Coe execution occurred by lethal injection April
19, 2000, at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution and cost taxpayers
more than $11,000. The estimated cost of executing an inmate has since
moved past $15,000.
For more about the Hill-Finney bill go to www.legislature.state.tn.us and
click on "Legislation." The bill's number is HB 2924.
(source: Kingsport Times-News)
A news release e-mailed by the Tennessee House Republican Caucus on
Wednesday touted state Rep. Matthew Hill pushing legislation that would
elevate child rape from a felony to a capital offense punishable by death
or life imprisonment.
What the release didn't say is how much the bill would cost Tennessee
taxpayers.
Hill, R-Jonesborough, who is up for re-election this year, said in the
release that child rape has a devastating effect on children.
"Statistics show that by the time a child sexual offender is caught for
the first time, they have usually molested six to eight children," Hill
said in the release. "The monsters who commit this crime deserve the most
severe punishment meted out by our justice system."
According to the state's Fiscal Review Office (FRO), the bill would cost
taxpayers an estimated $14.2 million in incarceration expenses, nearly
$750,000 in recurring costs to hire new public defenders and prosecutors,
and a one-time expense of about $100,000 for new computer equipment.
"The state incurs substantial out-of-pocket expenses in death-sentence
trials and appeals," the FRO's fiscal note on the bill said. "These
include costs of appointed attorneys, expert witnesses, investigation and
related matters. These additional costs are estimated to exceed $750,000
in each case."
An average of 64 persons in Tennessee have been convicted of child rape in
each of the last 3 years, according to the Administrative Office of the
Courts. The average age of each offender is 39 years, and the life
expectancy of each offender is 70 years.
It currently costs the state about $50 a day to house an inmate. According
to FRO, people convicted of child rape currently serve an average of 20
years.
Hill said the bill - which moved out of a House Criminal Practice
Subcommittee on Tuesday - was brought to him by state Sen. Raymond Finney,
R-Maryville.
"He wanted to see if we could kind of get the debate started and move it
through the process," Hill said of Finney's plans for the bill, which is
headed to the House Judiciary Committee.
Lawmakers on the subcommittee were informed of a state corrections
oversight committee's comment - that the bill could increase the number of
death row defenders and significantly increase the state's demand for
prison beds. Tennessee Supreme Court rules also require the appointment of
two defense attorneys in each death penalty case.
Tennessee has over 100 people on death row, and more than 20 of them have
more than 2 death sentences, according to the Department of Corrections.
Tennessee has executed 1 inmate - Robert Glen Coe for rape and murder - in
the past 45 years. The Coe execution occurred by lethal injection April
19, 2000, at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution and cost taxpayers
more than $11,000. The estimated cost of executing an inmate has since
moved past $15,000.
For more about the Hill-Finney bill go to www.legislature.state.tn.us and
click on "Legislation." The bill's number is HB 2924.
(source: Kingsport Times-News)