With Casey Anthony's life at stake, court costs will soar

Sarah Lundy | Sentinel Staff Writer

April 15, 2009

When prosecutors decided this week to seek the death penalty against Casey Anthony, they set the stage for what could turn out to be a pricey case for the state and the defense.

Death penalty cases are not cheap. Because the stakes are so high, attorneys file more motions, conduct more research and interview more witnesses. The trials also take more time.

For Anthony, the young mother charged with killing her 2-year-old daughter, the possibility of execution promises to prolong and complicate the trial, scheduled tentatively for October in Orlando.

"It can make the case 10 times more expensive. It's a very complex issue that has to be litigated by both sides," said Kevin McNally, a Kentucky-based death penalty attorney who is director of the Federal Death Penalty Project, which collects information on federal cases.

Jurors face tough scrutiny

Capital punishment cases need a special jury, and the case comes in two parts: the guilt-innocence phase and the penalty phase — all adding days or weeks to the process.

The first hurdle is selecting a jury. A juror on a death penalty case must be willing to sentence someone to die if needed. That shrinks a potential jury pool, eliminating people who say they can't vote for the death penalty no matter the circumstances.

Unlike other cases where jurors are questioned in groups, jurors in death penalty cases are interviewed individually.

"It is a battle over each one," said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. "It can take weeks. ... That doesn't happen in regular cases."

Veteran defense attorney Cheney Mason said it took three weeks to pick a jury in the first-degree murder case against his client, Nelson Ivan Serrano, who was sentenced to death in 2007 for the murders of four people in Polk County.

Once a jury is picked, the trial begins with the guilt-innocence phase, like most trials. Prosecutors present their evidence, and the defense tries to poke holes in the case.

The jury then decides whether the defendant is guilty of first-degree murder. If the jury finds the person guilty, the trial moves to stage two: the penalty phase.

Prosecutors present "aggravating factors" — outlined by law — that add weight to the argument that the person should be sentenced to death. Those factors could include whether the killing was committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner.

The defense then puts on its case, presenting "mitigating circumstances" why the defendant's life should be spared, such as the defendant acted under extreme duress.

"It's a second trial within a trial," Mason said.

That's where much of the cost starts to ratchet up.

More work, higher costs

The two phases often mean double the work for defense attorneys.

To prepare for the penalty phase, they do intensive research into the client's background. Every school record, medical record and even birth record may be examined, Mason said.

Mental health issues are explored, if they weren't already, he said.

Some defenses pay a mitigation specialist to dig up anything positive they can about the client. These details could sway a juror to vote against the death penalty.

"It's totally time-consuming," Bartow defense attorney David Carmichael said.

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