The Cost of Justice

Americans are captivated by crime. Horrible murders top television news shows and make the front pages of newspapers and covers of magazines. We identify with the victims’ families and their search for justice.

But rarely talk about the cost. How many people can recite specific testimony from the O. J.Murder trial, which ended in acquittal? And how many can tell you how much it cost?

The following are statistics, culled from various government agencies and private organizations, that address how much money society spends to dole out justice for serious crimes.

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Costs of the most notorious criminal trials in L.A. County

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The Defendants: 1. Sirhan B. Sirhan

Trial Ended: May, 1969

Cost in millions of dollars: 0.59

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The Defendants: 2. Charles Manson

Trial Ended: April 1971

Cost in millions of dollars: 0.77

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The Defendants: 3. William and Emily Harris (Symblonese Liberation Army)

Trial Ended: Sept. 1976

Cost in millions of dollars: 0.88

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The Defendants: 4. Angelo Buono (Hillside Strangler)

Trial Ended: Oct. 1983

Cost in millions of dollars: 1.54

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The Defendants: 5. Richard Ramirez (Night Stalker)

Trial Ended: Nov. 1989

Cost in millions of dollars: 1.81

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The Defendants: 6. Virginia McMartin*

Trial Ended: Jan. 1990

Cost in millions of dollars: 13.23

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The Defendants: 7. O.J. Simpson

Trial Ended: Oct. 1995

Cost in millions of dollars: 9.04

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The Defendants: 8. Menendez brothers

Trial Ended: April 1996 (retrial)

Cost in millions of dollars: 1.56

* Tried with Peggy McMartin Buckey and Raymond Buckey.

Court Facts

* Average daily cost of running a Los Angeles Superior criminal court (including supplies and salaries of judges, prosecutors, public defenders and support staff): $9,459

* Length of average criminal trial in Los Angeles: Two weeks.

* Number of defendants accused of serious crimes who were convicted or pled guilty in California in fiscal year 1996-97: 134,958.

* Number of criminal felony jury trials in California in 1996-97: 5,904.

* Average annual cost of incarcerating a convict in California prisons: $21,470.

* Average time convicts serve in California prisons: 22.6 months.

* Average time served for second-degree murder: 12 years, 2 months.

* Average time served for robbery: 36 months.

* Average cost of a California death-penalty case, from trial to execution: $2.5 million-$3 million.

* Average number of people sentenced to death in California each year: 30.

1998-99 Proposed Budgets

* Los Angeles County district attorney’s office (including child support): $213.3 million.

* Los Angeles County public defender’s office: $93.3 million.

* Los Angeles County Probation Department: $135.2 million.

* Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Custody Division: $145 million.

* Los Angeles County Superior Court: $272.6 million**

* Los Angeles County Municipal Court: $265.2 million**

** 1996-97 budgets

Source: Los Angeles County Department of Auditor-Controller; California Department of Corrections; Death Penalty Focus; Los Angeles Superior Court; Los Angeles district attorney’s office. Researched by EVELYN LARRUBIA AND STEPHANIE STASSEL / Los Angeles Times