A new report finds death sentences are down across the United States including in Georgia. This year not one person received the maximum penalty here after being found guilty.

The anti-capital punishment advocacy group, “Death Penalty Information Center” released the report. The group’s Richard Dieter says in many states like Georgia the problem is money.

Recently the Georgia Public Defender Standard’s Council has been hit with a number of lawsuits, which contend the agency cannot meet its constitutional obligations because of insufficient funding.

“The demands of an adequate public defender system, especially in death penalty cases is expensive and the state isn’t willing to fund and the courts are not willing to let cases proceed you know unless there is adequate representation.”

Dieter says legal and incarceration costs for death penalty cases can run as much as 3-million dollars. The cost of prosecuting and incarcerating someone for life in prison are about 1-million.

Tags: Georgia, death penalty, Georgia Public Defender' Standard's Council, Death Penalty Information Center