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SENATE CONSIDERS BILL BARRING EARLY SETTING OF EXECUTION DATES
By Larry O’Dell Associated Press- The Daily Press
4Feb08
Richmond, VA - Amid the parole-abolition, law-and-order frenzy of the mid-1990s, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation that had the effect of allowing execution dates to be set before appeals are considered by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The idea was to shorten an appeals process that frustrated not only prosecutors, but families of murder victims looking for justice and closure.
It seemed to work. Senior Assistant Attorney General Katherine Baldwin told a Senate committee that the average time between affirmation on direct appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court and execution was cut roughly in half, to 3.8 years, after the law took effect in 1995.
But now the General Assembly is considering legislation to change the law. The bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. John Edwards of Roanoke, would prohibit setting an execution date until after the nation's highest court rules on any appeal on the merits of the case.
The Senate Courts of Justice Committee voted 6-5 last week to endorse the measure, which could be considered by the full Senate as early as Wednesday.
The attorney general's office opposes the legislation. Baldwin told the committee that the possibility of an execution date being set encourages death row inmates to file their appeals in a timely manner.
"This was a bill in '95 that was pro-victims and victims' families because of the horrendous delays," Baldwin told the committee.
Henry County Commonwealth's Attorney Robert L. Bushnell, who heads the Virginia Commonwealth's Attorneys Association, agreed.
"It provides closure for survivors, but more importantly closure for the people of Virginia," Bushnell said in an interview.
But supporters of Edwards' bill say the law can put too much pressure on appellate attorneys, forcing them to draft an appeal, a request for a stay and a clemency petition in a compressed time period.
"If you're a proponent of the death penalty, the last thing you should want is a perception of a rush to judgment and undermining the confidence of the public on carrying out the death sentence," former state Attorney General Anthony Troy said in an interview.
Troy also spoke in favor of Edwards' bill at the committee meeting. He noted that every other death-penalty state in the federal 4th Circuit _ Maryland, North Carolina and South Carolina _ allow execution dates to be set only after the Supreme Court has ruled. The other state in the 4th Circuit, West Virginia, does not impose the death penalty.
"If we're going to impose the ultimate penalty, let them have the one full review without the pressure of an execution date," Troy said.
Troy and Edwards also argued that the 1995 state law is no longer necessary because the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, passed by Congress the following year, streamlined the appellate process.
The two sides disagree on how much time Edwards' bill would add to the appeals process. Troy said it would be no more than an additional 60 days, but Baldwin said the delay would be "months and months."
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