The Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit will not be analyzing the costs of the state death penalty, at least for now. The committee overseeing the division decided not to pursue Representative Steven Becker's request for an audit of the practice. Becker, a Republican from Buhler (BYOU-ler) and a retired district court judge, has introduced legislation to repeal the death penalty. Becker says Kansas should determine how much capital cases cost the state and local governments, and how much money could be saved by eliminating the death sentence as a punishment option.
Kansas reinstated capital punishment around 20 years ago, although no executions have been performed. The committee’s vice chair, Senator Jeff Longbine, says there aren't enough resources to approve all the audits that are proposed. He says an audit of death penalty costs could be considered again in the future.