Montgomery, AL – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has filed petitions with the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals seeking to prompt action in four long-pending capital murder cases, citing extended delays in federal court rulings.
According to Marshall, the petitions aim to address what he describes as prolonged inaction by federal district courts reviewing habeas corpus petitions filed by inmates sentenced to death. Under current legal procedures, executions are generally delayed until federal courts complete their review of such cases.
Marshall stated that the delays, in some instances spanning more than a decade, have prevented the State from moving forward with the enforcement of sentences. He emphasized concerns about the impact on victims’ families and the broader criminal justice system.
“It pains us whenever a family member or friend of a victim calls to check on a case, and we have to say, again and again, that our hands are tied—we’re just waiting on a ruling,” Marshall said. “We’ve done our jobs, secured a conviction, defended it on appeal, and it’s past time for the federal courts to do theirs—or get out of the way.”
The petitions involve four individuals whose cases have been pending in federal court for several years:
- Charles Randall Stewart was sentenced to death for the 1990 murder of his ex-wife, Betty Lang, in Talladega County. His federal habeas petition, filed in 2014, remains unresolved.
- Michael Craig Maxwell was sentenced to death for the 1998 killings of Harold Pugh and his 11-year-old son, Joey Pugh, in Colbert County. His federal petition was filed in 2010 and has undergone multiple rounds of briefing without a final ruling.
- James Ben Brownfield was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2001 murders of three family members in Jackson County. His case has been fully briefed since 2019 but has not received a ruling.
- Kerry M. Spencer was sentenced to death for the 2004 killings of three Birmingham police officers and the attempted murder of another officer. His federal petition has been pending since 2016, with full briefing completed in 2017.
Marshall’s office argues that these cases illustrate what he describes as a recurring issue within the federal review process, where extended delays can stall final resolution.
The Attorney General stated that the petitions are intended to encourage timely decisions by the courts or, alternatively, to allow the State to proceed without further delay. He indicated that prolonged timelines may undermine confidence in the judicial system and delay closure for victims’ families.
“At some point, judicial delay starts to look like judicial abolition of the death penalty,” Marshall said. “I will not allow the State’s criminal cases, especially those involving the worst of the worst criminals, to remain neglected.”
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals will review the petitions and determine whether to take action regarding the pending cases.
