The only readily available costs are for incarceration. There are several problems involved in trying to determine the cost of a capital case. First, there is a wide variety of costs associated with capital cases. These include costs for prosecuting and defense attorneys, interpreters, expert witnesses, court reporters, psychiatrists, secretaries, and jury consultants. Another problem is the length and complexity of the process.
Cases tend to last several years and can pass through three possible phases.
The final phase is federal habeas corpus, which includes appeals to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and to the U.S. Supreme Court. Michael Ross was originally sentenced to death in July 1987. His case is at the first phase state Supreme Court level. A third problem is the way states budget money for entities that are involved with capital cases. For example, Texas and Connecticut allocate specific sums to their judicial departments.