Alabama Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth speaks out for legislation that he says would shorten the duration of appeals by death row inmates. Ainsworth is joined by lawmakers at the Alabama State House. Posted by al.com on Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Alabama Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth said today he is proposing legislation carried by two state lawmakers to take away one step in the appeals process in death penalty cases.

Ainsworth held a news conference at the State House with Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, and Rep. Connie Rowe, R-Jasper, who will sponsor a bill that says death penalty cases would no longer be appealed to the Alabama Supreme Court. Only the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals would handle appeals in death penalty cases at the state level. Currently, cases are reviewed by both courts.

Ainsworth said he was motivated to sponsor the bill because of the deaths of seven Alabama law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty since January 2019, including Huntsville drug task force agent Billy Fred Clardy III, a husband and father of five who was shot and killed in December.

Ainsworth said Alabama inmates sentenced to death spend an average of about 14 years on death row. Forty-nine of the 175 inmates on death row in Alabama have been there at least 20 years.

“Justice should be swift but not stagnant,” Ainsworth said.

Ward said crime rates overall are down in Alabama over the last few years but that the murder rate is up.

“We’ve got to do something to push back on this,” Ward said. "I’ve always been an advocate for criminal justice reform. But let me tell you something. Public safety comes first."

Rowe spent 27 years in law enforcement, including serving as Jasper’s police chief. Rowe said she spent much of her time helping victims cope with the legal system.

“In capital cases, it’s seeing if you can live long enough to see justice served in a death penalty case,” Rowe said. “That doesn’t always happen.”

Rowe noted the case of Gregory Hunt, who was convicted in the 1988 murder of Karen Sanders Lane in Walker County. Hunt remains on death row, where he has been since 1990.

“Her parents have both passed away,” Rowe said. "Her sister, her only sibling, lives to see if the death penalty is ever played out in the state of Alabama."

But some lengthy death penalty appeals have resulted in reversals. Anthony Ray Hinton spent 30 years on Alabama’s death row until a U.S. Supreme Court ruling granted him a new trial in 2015. Prosecutors dropped the case.

Walter McMillian spent six years on death row for a murder he did not commit. His story is told in the movie “Just Mercy,” about Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson, who fought to overturn McMillian’s conviction.

Ainsworth said he believes if his bill passes that adequate safeguards would remain in place.

“What we’re staying is that 14 years is too long,” he said. “And we want obviously, justice that’s fair but also swift and expedited.”

In addition to eliminating the appeal to the state Supreme Court, the bill says the Court of Criminal Appeals would give death penalty cases the highest priority and expedite them to the extent possible.