Alabama | Bill to remove step in death penalty appeals moves ahead

The Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee today approved a bill that would take one step out of the death penalty appeals process at the state level, with Republicans supporting the legislation and Democrats opposing it.

The committee voted 4-3 in favor of the bill by Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, that would send death penalty case appeals directly to the Alabama Supreme Court, bypassing the Court of Criminal Appeals. The bill also says the Supreme Court would give death penalty cases priority over other cases and expedite them to the extent possible.

The bill approved today is a new version of the original bill, which would have given the Court of Criminal Appeals sole jurisdiction over death penalty cases as the state level.

Ward, chairman of the committee, is sponsoring the legislation that was initiated by Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth. The intent is to shorten the duration of death row appeals, which now average 14 years, according to Ainsworth.

Expediency

Christine Freeman, executive director of the Middle District of Alabama Federal Defenders Program, Inc., spoke in opposition to the bill. She read off a list of 9 Alabama death row inmates who she said have been exonerated. She said the amount of time to win their appeals ranged from three years to 28 years.

“Efficiency is a great goal, but not at the expense of justice,” Freeman said.

Advocates for the bill have said it is modeled after the system in Texas. But Freeman said Texas has public defender programs that Alabama lacks.

“We should not be adopting expediency of other states without also adopting protections they have,” Freeman said.

Ward said death row defendants would still have fair routes of appeal, including through the federal courts. Ward has been one of the Legislature’s top advocates for criminal justice reforms but has said the bill was motivated out of concerns for public safety.

Ainsworth said he was motivated to bring the bill because of the deaths of seven Alabama law enforcement officers who were slain by gunfire since January 2019.

Voting in favor of the bill were Sens. Ward; Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville; Will Barfoot, R-Montgomery; and Larry Stutts, R-Sheffield. Voting against it were Sens. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham; Vivian Davis Figures, D-Mobile; and Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro.

Ward’s bill now moves into position for consideration by the Senate.

Rep. Connie Rowe, R-Jasper, is sponsoring the same bill in the House.

Source: al.com, Staff, February 27, 2020

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