The House of Representatives has passed a bill that removes a step in the state's death penalty appeal process, despite concerns from some in the legal system.
The "Sgt. Daniel Baker Act" was named after a Dickson County sheriff's deputy who was shot and killed in the line of duty in May 2018. Two suspects, Steven Wiggins and Erika Castro-Miles, were each charged with first-degree murder in Baker's killing.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for both defendants, whose trials are set for August.
House Bill 258 was approved 72-22. If passed in the Senate and made law, the legislation would remove the appeal to the court of criminal appeals after a defendant is sentenced to death, a step that currently precedes the case being heard by the Tennessee Supreme Court.
The Baker Act has three times been scheduled for a vote on the Senate floor, but has been deferred each time. It is on the calendar again for Thursday.
While the bill received pushback both from Democrats and representatives from the court system while moving through committees, Republicans backing the legislation have said the state's current system delays justice by dragging out cases for too long.
Several Democrats spoke against the bill on the House floor Monday evening.
"When it comes to death penalty cases, we have to get it right," said Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis. "It's mostly the people who look like me who are getting charged with the death penalty more than anybody else. And that's a fact.
"I don’t know why we would want to rush or speed up a process when you're talking about taking someone's life."
Of the 30 states where the death penalty is permitted, Tennessee is one of only two that uses a two-step appeal process.
Sponsored in the House by Rep. Mary Littleton, R-Dickson, the bill was originally filed a few years ago by Sen. John Stevens, R-Huntington, who is again the Senate sponsor.
Baker's family stood in the gallery of the House chamber on Monday evening as the discussion and voting took place.
Littleton said the bill was "not influenced by (Baker's) death or the pending trial.”
Among those who spoke out against the bill during the committee process was Judge John Everett Williams, who current presides over the state’s Court of Criminal Appeals and rebutted the notion that his court could be drawing out the death penalty cases.
"We are not the reason these cases are taking 30 years,” said Williams to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 27.
Williams said death penalty cases in his court are normally handled in a three to five month period and are “given priority."
Source: tennessean.com, Natalie Allison, March 18, 2019
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