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Davis Trial Costs Soar for TaxpayersBy The Associated ?rwiIt cost taxpayers $40,933 to convict Michael Wayne Evans of capital murder for the slaying of a church pianist. Until now, it's cost the prosecution more than that just for the transcripts in the Cullen Davis case.After five weeks of jury selection and testimony, a Dallas jury convicted Evans and assessed him the death penalty for the June 26 slaying of 35-year-old Elvira Guerrero. The Davis trial is in its 13th week and total costs are close to a half-million dollars.The millionaire murder defendant is being tried for the August 1976 staying of his 12-year-old step daughter. He is be* lieved to be the richest man ever to be tried for murder in the nation — surlt; passing the late Cadance Mossier who received $33 million estate after she was found innocent of stabbing her husband to death a decade ago.So far, the largest single expense of the David trial has been salaries and expenses for members of the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office — about $185,000. Seven persons are working full-time on the case and have spent*the last five months in an Amarillo motel. The trial was moved to the West Texas city in June after a mistrial in Fort Worth during jury selection.Prosecution costs for three assistant district attorneys in the Evans case were W.4I0.Each staff member in the Davis prosecution team is allowed one trip per week to Fort Worth. Travel expenses submitted to the Tarrant County auditor through Oct. 1 totaled $11,569.39.Staff members' meals and rooms at the Amarillo Hilton 'Inn ran to another $27,417.54. The phone bill, including a$900 per month WATS line, totaled $4,267.60 through Oct. 1.The trial transcripts, compiled by an Amarillo court reporter, cost $4.25 per page or about $1,000 per day. The trial transcripts now Include more than 13,000 pages at a total cost of $55,000.Transcripts of testimony in the Evans case cost $115.One of the large differences in costs is the tab for sequestering the Davis jurors. Between June 5 and Oct. 1 it cost $71,315 to keep Davis in jail and the jurors in an Amarillo hotel,
Newspaper Details
Abilene Reporter News
Abilene, Texas, US
Tue, Nov 15, 1977
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Jared T.
NA, NA 01 Sep 2023
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