COST

“The millions of dollars we’ve spent on the death penalty would have been much better invested in more police officers, additional resources or training for our current officers."

- Captain Jim Davidsaver, Lincoln Police Department

A waste of limited resources

In 2016, conservative economist Dr. Ernie Goss of Creighton University did a thorough and complete study of the costs associated with Nebraska's death penalty system. It showed that capital punishment costs Nebraska taxpayers $14,600,000 more than life without the possibility of parole every year. This is due to the lengthy and complex initial trial, the costly appeals process and the increased housing costs. Read the executive summary of the study here or the full study here.