US Courts: “A recently published study on federal death penalty cases offers updated findings on the cost, quality, and availability of defense representation. Among the findings: The median cost of a case in which the Attorney General authorized seeking the death penalty was nearly eight times greater than the cost of a case that was eligible for capital prosecution but in which the death penalty was not authorized. The report also shows that cases in which seeking the death penalty was authorized cost more than twice as much if they went to trial rather than being resolved through a plea agreement.”