Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 25, 2006 0:36:33 GMT -5
Attaching a cost is case itself
Think it was a tough chore figuring out how many bodies were found in Hugo
Selenski's backyard?
Try figuring out how much it costs to investigate and prosecute a case
like Selenski's.
The billing is so complicated that it's practically impossible to tell
exactly how much money Luzerne County spent in all the digging, testing,
chasing, arresting, and prosecuting in Selenski's homicide case since the
1st 2 bodies were unearthed in 2003.
Since November 2004, the district attorney's office has spent at least
$95,000, according to Deputy Controller A.J. Martinelli.
In 2006, when Selenski's first double-homicide trial occurred, the county
court system paid $240,000 in expenses in all death-penalty cases,
according to Deputy Court Administrator Jack Mulroy. The Selenski case
accounts for an unspecified amount of that money.
Also, District Attorney David Lupas said some of his expenses, such as the
amount of detectives' overtime in the investigation, are calculated under
a different line item in his budget and not specifically listed as a
Selenski expense.
"The expenses just aren't tracked that well," he said.
Selenski's trial stemmed from the deaths of two drug dealer suspects.
Investigators said he lured the two men, Frank James and Adeiye Keiler, to
his Kingston Township home in May 2003 before robbing them of drugs and
money and using a shotgun to kill them.
He was charged with homicide and other charges and prosecutors sought the
death penalty.
At his trial in February, Selenski was cleared of killing the men but
convicted of burning the bodies.
That prevented the case from making it to the death-penalty phase. But
money had already been spent on preparation for that phase.
Mulroy said most of that $240,000 in death-penalty cases was spent on
trials. This year, two death-penalty trials were conducted, Selenski's and
Joseph Gacha's. That budget line item does not differentiate the expenses
between cases.
The expenses, Mulroy said, mostly come from paying experts.
For instance, if a judge orders the testimony of a prior hearing
transcribed or for a defendant to undergo an independent psychiatric
examination, the court has to pay for those jobs when given the judge's
order, Mulroy said.
In Selenski's trial, the county was ordered to pay about $80,000 for
Selenski's defense.
That was just from the first trial. He has another one coming up.
In that one, Selenski and Paul Weakley were charged with killing Michael
Kerkowski and Tammy Fassett.
And prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in that case, too - for both
suspects.
It might seem as if the number of death-penalty cases would be crippling
Lupas' budget, but he said a death-penalty case is not much more expensive
than a homicide case in which prosecutors do not seek the death penalty.
He said a death-penalty case costs "tens of thousands" of dollars to
prosecute.
But most of his expenses are from the guilt portion of the trial. The
amount of expenses, he said, depends on the amount and type of evidence
that has to be presented. The more experts needed to testify, the more
costly a trial will be.
Prosecutors, he said, do not incur many more expenses in the death-penalty
phase because they have a limited amount of testimony to present.
For instance, in the recent Joseph Gacha homicide case, prosecutors called
only 4 witnesses, 3 of victim Carrie Martin's family members and one
expert, to testify during the death-penalty part of that case.
The defense, on the other hand, called 12 witnesses, including 2 experts.
"They have much more latitude in what they can present," Lupas said.
And with the amount of homicides this year, you can bet the price of that
defense, and prosecution, will increase.
Mulroy said the county court system has 18 pending homicide cases.
Lupas is preparing for them.
This year, he had $180,000 in his budget for all trials. Next year, he
plans on asking for an additional $20,000 for all trials.
And if he needs even more, he won't be afraid to ask the county
commissioners.
"We haven't run in to that problem yet," he said.
(source: Times Leader)
Think it was a tough chore figuring out how many bodies were found in Hugo
Selenski's backyard?
Try figuring out how much it costs to investigate and prosecute a case
like Selenski's.
The billing is so complicated that it's practically impossible to tell
exactly how much money Luzerne County spent in all the digging, testing,
chasing, arresting, and prosecuting in Selenski's homicide case since the
1st 2 bodies were unearthed in 2003.
Since November 2004, the district attorney's office has spent at least
$95,000, according to Deputy Controller A.J. Martinelli.
In 2006, when Selenski's first double-homicide trial occurred, the county
court system paid $240,000 in expenses in all death-penalty cases,
according to Deputy Court Administrator Jack Mulroy. The Selenski case
accounts for an unspecified amount of that money.
Also, District Attorney David Lupas said some of his expenses, such as the
amount of detectives' overtime in the investigation, are calculated under
a different line item in his budget and not specifically listed as a
Selenski expense.
"The expenses just aren't tracked that well," he said.
Selenski's trial stemmed from the deaths of two drug dealer suspects.
Investigators said he lured the two men, Frank James and Adeiye Keiler, to
his Kingston Township home in May 2003 before robbing them of drugs and
money and using a shotgun to kill them.
He was charged with homicide and other charges and prosecutors sought the
death penalty.
At his trial in February, Selenski was cleared of killing the men but
convicted of burning the bodies.
That prevented the case from making it to the death-penalty phase. But
money had already been spent on preparation for that phase.
Mulroy said most of that $240,000 in death-penalty cases was spent on
trials. This year, two death-penalty trials were conducted, Selenski's and
Joseph Gacha's. That budget line item does not differentiate the expenses
between cases.
The expenses, Mulroy said, mostly come from paying experts.
For instance, if a judge orders the testimony of a prior hearing
transcribed or for a defendant to undergo an independent psychiatric
examination, the court has to pay for those jobs when given the judge's
order, Mulroy said.
In Selenski's trial, the county was ordered to pay about $80,000 for
Selenski's defense.
That was just from the first trial. He has another one coming up.
In that one, Selenski and Paul Weakley were charged with killing Michael
Kerkowski and Tammy Fassett.
And prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in that case, too - for both
suspects.
It might seem as if the number of death-penalty cases would be crippling
Lupas' budget, but he said a death-penalty case is not much more expensive
than a homicide case in which prosecutors do not seek the death penalty.
He said a death-penalty case costs "tens of thousands" of dollars to
prosecute.
But most of his expenses are from the guilt portion of the trial. The
amount of expenses, he said, depends on the amount and type of evidence
that has to be presented. The more experts needed to testify, the more
costly a trial will be.
Prosecutors, he said, do not incur many more expenses in the death-penalty
phase because they have a limited amount of testimony to present.
For instance, in the recent Joseph Gacha homicide case, prosecutors called
only 4 witnesses, 3 of victim Carrie Martin's family members and one
expert, to testify during the death-penalty part of that case.
The defense, on the other hand, called 12 witnesses, including 2 experts.
"They have much more latitude in what they can present," Lupas said.
And with the amount of homicides this year, you can bet the price of that
defense, and prosecution, will increase.
Mulroy said the county court system has 18 pending homicide cases.
Lupas is preparing for them.
This year, he had $180,000 in his budget for all trials. Next year, he
plans on asking for an additional $20,000 for all trials.
And if he needs even more, he won't be afraid to ask the county
commissioners.
"We haven't run in to that problem yet," he said.
(source: Times Leader)