Constitutional errors in Roger Coleman 's case were not considered because his attorneys miscalculated the time and filed his appeal one day late. In spite of its projected strong death penalty stance and draconian death penalty laws, repeated polls taken since 1989 continue to show that given an option, a healthy majority of Virginians prefer alternatives to the death penalty. Politicians continue to ignore these findings. According to independent statewide polls administered at Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Tech, an overwhelming majority oppose the death penalty when given the alternative of life with no possibility of parole for a minimum of 25 years, combined with restitution to victims' families. The death penalty costs 5 to 6 times more than life imprisonment, according to studies in a number of states.
Most costs occur at trial level.
The high cost does not assure that innocent men are not executed. The highly publicized case of Roger Coleman, executed in 1992, is an example of a system that refuses to listen ot the merits of the case. A number of men, including Joe Giarratano, whose sentences were commuted by the Governor because of concerns that they might be innocent have been refused retrials to prove their innocence. As a result they will spend the rest of their lives in prison for crimes they did not commit. The Supreme Court, the United Nations, and numerous independent studies have concluded that the death penalty has no effect on the crime rate.