Courts could end long delays in capital cases

Decatur Daily, Editorial

On the day last week when Farron Barksdale pleaded guilty to killing two
Athens police officers, the state executed Darrell Grayson for a 1980
murder.

The family of 86-year-old Annie Laura Orr of Montevallo continued to relive
the case for 27 years because of endless appeals and a last-minute campaign
for DNA testing.

Mr. Barksdale's guilty plea in return for a life sentence without parole
spares the families of Sgt. Larry Russell and officer Tony Mims of a similar
ordeal.

He shot the officers Jan. 2, 2004, when they responded to his 911 call to
his mother's Athens home. Determining his mental competency to stand trial
delayed the proceedings.

A competency trial was to begin Monday and could have delayed his possible
trial for murder.

The families didn't look forward to reliving the tragedy in court. The
agreement allows the state to put the basic facts of the case into evidence
in a shortened trial next month. Mr. Barksdale will be formally sentenced
afterwards and won't be back in court to continue tormenting the families.

The families' plight is one of the dilemmas of capital punishment. Limestone
County Sheriff Mike Blakely pointed out one of them. "I'm always a staunch
supporter of the death penalty, but the problem with it is that it's not
swiftly applied," he said, in supporting the plea agreement.

There also are the cases of convicts walking out of prison after many years
because of DNA testing. Mr. Grayson didn't benefit from this new evidentiary
tool, but those who do make a compelling argument for not rushing the
process.

State and federal court systems can find a way to speed up the appeals
without denying adequate opportunity to appeal cases.

Twenty-seven years is a ridiculous amount of time for Ms. Orr's family to
relive their ordeal.

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Source : Decatur Daily, Editorial

http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdail ... 729a.shtml