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Sunday, February 17, 2008

Ind. Courts - "Wilkes trial costs adding up"

Kate Braser of the Evansville C & P writes today:

Even with his trial and death penalty sentencing completed, the costs for defending triple murderer Daniel Ray Wilkes continue to mount for Vanderburgh County.

The price tag for the case was a topic of discussion during the County Council's recent personnel and finance meeting, when council members were asked to appropriate $175,000 toward paying for it.

During the meeting, Chief Public Defender Stephen Owens said he expects the total costs of the case to approach $500,000. But because the Indiana Public Defender Commission will reimburse up to half of the expenses, Vanderburgh County likely will end up paying only about $250,000, he said.

Owens said the request will cover defense costs for November and December plus a projected $25,000 in additional costs that led up to Wilkes' Jan. 25 sentencing. The automatic appeals that counties must pay for in death penalty cases are accounted for.

Owens said since the county's public defender agency was established, his office has handled one appellate appeal in a capital murder case, and it cost the county $60,000.

The bulk of the latest bill comes from the trial, which spanned two weeks in Jeffersonville, Ind., and required the county to pay for hotels, attorney and paralegal fees and the travel, lodging and services of expert witnesses. * * *

Paula Sites, assistant executive director of the Indiana Public Defender Council, previously has said the average defense cost for a death penalty case in Indiana is about $375,000. She said that accounts for expenses through trial.

Asked about the mounting bills for Wilkes' case a few months ago, Sites said it presented a perfect storm for staggering costs because of the timing and manner of the deaths of 38-year-old Donna Lee Claspell and daughters Avery Pike, 13, and Sydne Claspell, 8. She said the complicated crime scene required in-depth forensic research, and defense attorneys had to investigate Wilkes' mental health history and past drug use.

Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Stan Levco did not want to comment specifically on the Wilkes case, but said in general, he thinks death penalty costs are "out of hand."

Levco is part of a state committee that is looking into death penalty costs.

Some county prosecutors — such as Pike County Prosecutor Darrin McDonald — have sought other means of prosecution to avoid the expense of death penalty cases. McDonald cited expense as one reason he offered Nicholas Harbison life in prison without parole in exchange for Harbison pleading guilty to killing three people in 2006. Paula Sites, assistant executive director of the Indiana Public Defender Council, previously has said the average defense cost for a death penalty case in Indiana is about $375,000. She said that accounts for expenses through trial.

Asked about the mounting bills for Wilkes' case a few months ago, Sites said it presented a perfect storm for staggering costs because of the timing and manner of the deaths of 38-year-old Donna Lee Claspell and daughters Avery Pike, 13, and Sydne Claspell, 8. She said the complicated crime scene required in-depth forensic research, and defense attorneys had to investigate Wilkes' mental health history and past drug use.

Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Stan Levco did not want to comment specifically on the Wilkes case, but said in general, he thinks death penalty costs are "out of hand."

Levco is part of a state committee that is looking into death penalty costs.

Some county prosecutors — such as Pike County Prosecutor Darrin McDonald — have sought other means of prosecution to avoid the expense of death penalty cases. McDonald cited expense as one reason he offered Nicholas Harbison life in prison without parole in exchange for Harbison pleading guilty to killing three people in 2006.

This June 16, 2007 ILB entry, quoting from a Fort Wayne Journal Gazette story about the costs of an Allen County trial, is headed "Rios trial costs ballooning: Court to request another $340,000 for murder case." The entry concludes with these comments:
The ILB has had a number of earlier entries of the costs of death penalty cases, including "Death penalty sends a state's legal costs soaring" from 11/5/06, "Cost of death penalty trial factored into Pike County decision" from 10/17/06, "Three trials in the Camm murder case have cost Floyd County taxpayers about $1.8 million" from 4/3/06.

The Camm retrial costs led to legislation: see these entries from 1/27/07 and 2/5/07. As reported in this 4/30/07 ILB entry, the new state budget does include language providing for "state reimbursement on new trial costs when the Indiana Court of Appeals or Indiana Supreme Court calls for a new trial."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 17, 2008 01:06 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts