Top Jurists Pan Faster Death Penalty Appeals

[Rose Siding]

Chief justices of state courts from around the country have urged the U.S. Senate not to pass a bill aimed at speeding death penalty appeals.

The resolution passed overwhelmingly by the Conference of Chief Justices this week was the latest opposition to the Streamlined Procedures Act, introduced in the Senate by Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and in the House by Dan Lungren (R-Gold River). Only the chief justice of Texas' Supreme Court voted against the resolution, according to several justices who were present.
...
George said his review of the legislation indicated that it would overturn some recent decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court that had given new hearings to people on death row. "Those Rehnquist court decisions would not have been possible if this legislation had been in effect," George said. "That is troubling to me; it was troubling to my colleagues."

Ohio Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer expressed similar views. "What we are saying to the Committee members is: 'Don't rush this through,' " said Moyer, a Republican, the longest-serving chief justice in the nation.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-death6aug06,1,3917582.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

[meganmonkey]

1. Good! These people know very well how flawed

our justice system is and no matter what party they are in they don't want to send innocent people to die.

To me, this is just another example demonstrating that the death penalty is too flawed and shouldn't even exist.

[wli]

2. here come the kangaroo/starchamber courts

After a little dog and pony show about "weighing it carefully."

[Gyre]

3. Same ivory-tower judges who

prefer "99 guilty persons go free than have one innocent person convicted" who obviously don't live in bad neighborhoods. But I do realize that they've got alot of company in DU's ranks. Just a matter of personal philosophy I guess.

Gyre