Utah killer executed by firing squad

[CRedskinsRule]

I assume that when the death penalty is claimed to be costly, most of that is the costs associated with all the appeals. Doesn't the cost of life without parole appeals than have to be added in to the other side's argument. (I don't have any idea how the costs are broken down so I am asking). And Leslie Van Houten's case shows that even in life without parole cases, people are going to continue to keep the courts tied up with every possible appeal:

Leslie Van Houten - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Van Houten won a retrial in 1977 on the grounds that her counsel had not effectively represented her at the original trial. The lawyer at her first trial, Ronald Hughes, had disappeared during the trial and was later found dead. It was alleged that members of the Manson Family killed Hughes, but this has never been proven. Van Houten's second trial ended in a hung jury. She was tried a third time, during which she was free on bond. She was found guilty of felony robbery, murder, and conspiracy to commit murder. Once again, she was sentenced to life in prison.
Parole requests

With one exception, Van Houten has had an uneventful prison record. In 1981, she married an ex-convict who was subsequently found to be in possession of a uniform used by pregnant prison employees. Van Houten quickly divorced him and ended the association, stating that she had known nothing about any plans he might have had to break her out of prison.

In 2002, Van Houten filed an appeal of her 2000 parole rejection, which received a hearing in Superior Court. Superior Court Judge Bob Krug ordered a new parole hearing, Krug pointed out that at the 1977 retrial, Van Houten was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole, but having served eight years in prison, she was already eligible for parole by 1978. Krug's ruling for Van Houten was overturned on appeal in 2004.

Van Houten was denied parole on August 25, 2004. She was again denied parole on September 7, 2006, her 16th unsuccessful application. At this hearing she was informed she may apply again in one year as opposed to the usual two years. She was once again denied parole on August 30, 2007, but would be allowed to have a hearing again in two years. Van Houten's parole hearing scheduled for August 2009[7] was postponed until August 2010 after she requested a postponement due to current legal issues being pursued in court, wherein she is challenging her 2004 parole denial in federal court. Van Houten is scheduled to go before the parole board for a 19th time on July 6, 2010.

Van Houten remains housed in the California Institution for Women in Chino, along with Krenwinkel. Filmmaker John Waters has actively advocated for Van Houten's parole.