How much do taxpayers pay per year to keep someone serving a life sentance in prison?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2001 the average cost of a prisoner in a state prison system was $22,650/year and in the federal prison system $22,632/year (see pages 2 and 3 of Acrobat version of State Prison Expenditures, 2001 at at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/spe01.htm ). This report doesn’t distinguish between those prisoners serving life sentences and those spending less time, and I suppose they’d differ if there are variations in security levels between these groups. There is a large variation among states, which is discussed in the report. A story in the Christian Science Monitor at http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0512/p02s02-usju.html in May 2004 says that the average “lifer” now serves 29 years in prison.