I am a conservative, but here’s why Oklahoma should stay Tremane Wood’s execution | Opinion
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Caroline Molloy
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Caroline MolloyBeing tough on crime doesn’t mean being cavalier and careless with justice. Oklahomans from both sides of the aisle expect their government to be fair, accurate and fiscally responsible. We may be falling short on all three with the scheduled execution of Tremane Wood on Nov. 13, while his Brady claims — legal assertions that a prosecutor failed to disclose evidence — from this spring’s evidentiary hearing are still being litigated. His case illustrates the need for Oklahoma to slow down and re-evaluate its execution process.
Last month, I led an interim study on the costs associated with our criminal justice system. The study identified several flaws in our judicial and corrections systems, attempted to explain the costs to taxpayers and incarcerated individuals, and offered solutions that may be easily fixed. Wrongful convictions come at a price. The study detailed how previous wrongful incarceration cases cost Oklahoma taxpayers.
I’m a conservative. I believe in accountability and prudent stewardship of taxpayer dollars. The death penalty, as administered today, too often delivers neither. Nationally, the known error rate in capital cases is unacceptably high. Oklahoma’s recent history shows how often serious problems surface long after the trial — sometimes years or even decades later. Proceeding despite unresolved issues (like Brady claims) risks both wrongful outcomes and avoidable costs.
Incarceration costs Oklahoma taxpayers about $24,000 per person per year, but death-row custody is typically double due to higher security and medical/segregation needs. Wood was sentenced in 2004 and has spent about 21 years awaiting execution. Over that period, taxpayers have paid about $504,000 more to house him on death row than it would have cost to incarcerate a typical inmate.
Housing is only part of the tab. Independent analyses of Oklahoma’s capital litigation process reveal a capital-charging premium of about $110,000 per case before many prosecution and appellate overheads are applied. That brings the cost of Wood’s case to roughly $614,000.
The state also pays for an execution team, medical fees, training time and consumables, which add up to about $15,000 per execution. That pushes the conservative incremental total to upward of $629,000 for pursuing death rather than life without parole in this single case.
That figure does not include thousands of staff hours from prosecutors, the attorney general’s office, defense attorneys, court reporters and jurors — as well as transportation costs and evidentiary hearings to untangle legal disputes. Nor does it capture the cost of a do-over if courts order new proceedings later.
Justice should be sure and steady — but not swift at the price of accuracy. Executing a man while his Brady claims are mid-appeal is the opposite of careful government. It also compounds the trauma upon the victim’s family. And if a court later finds serious error, scarce public safety dollars will have been spent on the most expensive and error-prone path to justice that we have.
