BOISE, ID – The Idaho Department of Correction released more details Tuesday on how much the first execution in 17 years cost the state.
The Department spent $53,411 to execute convicted murderer Paul Ezra Rhoades in November. A little less than half of that was spent on employee overtime. The rest, or nearly $28,000 went to operating costs. That includes several thousand dollars for equipment rentals to accommodate the media and demonstrators. And more than $13,000 for medical supplies. Director Brent Reinke says it was important to have a qualified lethal injection team.
Brent Reinke: “When we start talking about medical supplies throughout these documents, there are a lot involved here because we needed to have a good medical team. They needed to be trained. And quite frankly we wanted medical professionals involved in this process”
Reinke says they’re looking at ways to make the process more efficient because the next execution could happen soon.
Brent Reinke: “We’ve been notified by the Attorney General’s that that could be a possibility around mid-year. Anything can happen in processes. But we want to make sure that we take into account lessons learned in November and apply that to whatever may happen in ’12.”
Reinke says they’ll provide a final report on potential cost-savings in the next week or so.
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