Montgomery, AL – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has joined a coalition of 16 states in supporting a proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that seeks to streamline the federal review process for state capital murder convictions.
The coalition submitted a letter backing DOJ’s proposed changes to regulations associated with the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA). According to the DOJ, inmates sentenced to death spend an average of 21 years on death row before their cases are resolved. Alabama officials contend that capital cases in the state can take even longer, citing federal judicial review as a significant factor contributing to delays.
Under current law, states are not required to provide legal counsel for indigent inmates beyond their first appeal. However, AEDPA created an incentive for states that voluntarily provide counsel during state post-conviction proceedings by offering expedited federal review procedures, including stricter deadlines and limitations on additional appeals.
According to the coalition, no state has successfully utilized those expedited procedures, in part because of existing DOJ regulations. The proposed rule would revise those regulations, potentially making it easier for states to qualify for the accelerated review process.
Attorney General Marshall said the proposed changes could help provide greater finality for victims’ families who have waited years for cases to conclude.
“Behind every one of these cases is a family that has already waited decades for a resolution that the law promised them. Even when we win, the manufactured procedural delay can make legal victories feel like a wound reopened. These families deserve finality, and I’m hopeful DOJ’s new rule will help deliver it,” Marshall said.
Marshall also stated that lengthy delays in capital cases place additional burdens on victims’ families and argued that extended proceedings can hinder the administration of justice.
The Alabama Attorney General’s Office noted that Marshall has advocated for measures intended to address delays in capital cases, including defending death penalty convictions and supporting the use of nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method. Alabama became the first state to use nitrogen hypoxia, a method that state officials say provides an additional option for carrying out lawful executions.
The office also highlighted efforts to reduce case backlogs through federal court action and support for Alabama’s Speedy Trial legislation, which was designed to help prosecutors move criminal cases through the court system more efficiently.
The coalition supporting the DOJ proposal includes attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Texas.
The DOJ’s proposed rule remains under consideration as part of the federal rulemaking process.
