JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Democratic lawmaker from St. Louis wants the Missouri auditor's office to investigate the cost of applying the death penalty.
State Sen. Joe Keaveny (keh-VIHN'-ee) says the audit would be the first comprehensive study in Missouri to compare the cost of the death penalty with sentencing an offender to life in prison without parole. Keaveny filed a bill seeking the audit this week.
Keaveny says the goal is to determine the cost of capital punishment, not to analyze whether the death penalty is an effective deterrent to crime.
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Death penalty audit is SB786
Online:
Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov