On the Public Finance of Capital Punishment

Abstract

A capital trial is a costly affair. When a local government bears the expense of trial, it must raise funds or reallocate them from other sources. In Texas, among other states, the cost of trial is borne primarily at the county level. A panel of Texas county spending over the last decade, constructed from audited financial statements, shows counties meet the expense of trial by raising property tax rates and by reducing public safety expenditure. Property crime rises as a consequence of the latter. The death penalty may therefore impede criminal deterrence if its finance is left to local, rather than centralized government.

Keywords: Capital Trial, Taxes, Crime, Death Penalty, Deterrence, Law Enforcement

JEL Classification: H72, H76, K14, K40, K42