Judges to see cost before ordering sentence

ST. LOUIS -- Judges in Missouri may be the first in the country to start seeing the price tag for the sentences they hand out.

For each case, judges can review data about how likely the defendant is to commit another crime and how much it would cost to carry out various sentencing options. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Tuesday that national experts do not know of other states providing case-specific cost estimates.

Barbara Tombs with the sentencing commission for Washington, D.C., said states often require prison officials to analyze cost when changing criminal penalties or adding new offenses. But Tombs said she has not heard of judges being given cost estimates for specific cases before sentencing and is unsure whether that is wise.

"I don't know enough about it to know whether it's a good idea or not," Tombs said.

Cost data in Missouri comes from the state's sentencing advisory commission, which was created by the Legislature to help judges with sentencing. The cost estimates are based on a formula, and the Department of Corrections already had been calculating recidivism rates. The new data was available to judges starting last month.

Supreme Court Judge Michael Wolff, the leader of the Missouri Sentence Advisory Commission, said the courts should consider cost and effectiveness when mulling sentences.

"It is up to the judge to decide the sentence. They are just more informed with this data," Wolff said.

Defense attorneys say the cost information can help bolster arguments for alternatives to prison sentences that cost less and might be more effective at getting defendants to change their behavior. Cat Kelly, the deputy director of the Missouri Public Defender System, said the state is out of money and more cost-effective options should be tried in minor and nonviolent cases.

But St. Charles County Prosecutor Jack Banas said the price should not drive sentencing decisions.

"I don't think it has any purpose in a process of balancing justice," Banas said. "Justice doesn't come down to dollars and cents. You have to look at the system as a whole picture."

In other states, judges have sought more information before handing down their sentences.

"We're seeing a trend where judges are asking for more evidence about best practices," said Greg Hurley, of the National Center for State Courts. "They are looking at an offender's track record and other predictive data that may show which treatments or programs may work best to cut down on recidivism."

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com