Law: innocent dead men walking? New habeas law would have sealed the fate of some inmates later found not guilty

Article Abstract:

The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 contains restrictions on habeas corpus which may cause more litigation as criminal defense lawyers test the law's constitutionality. Class action suits have already been filed in California and Pennsylvania seeking to enjoin the immediate use of the new habeas system, while other states including Missouri have tried to take advantage of the law's time limits and strict review standards. The law is the culmination of a habeas debate of at least 40 years standing which culminated in the anti-crime fervor of the Reagan and Bush years.

Sentences (Criminal procedure), Capital punishment

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Crime bill faces old barriers; passage has stalled since 1991 over guns, sentencing, death cases

Article Abstract:

President Clinton has presented an anti-crime bill similar to the one which failed to progress past the Senate in 1991. The bill includes funding for 50,000 additional police in five years, almost 50 new death penalty crimes, limits on habeas corpus appeals, and a five-day waiting period for buying guns. Senator Joseph Biden has introduced a habeas corpus reform bill in an attempt to eliminate one obstacle which prevented passage of the bill in 1991. The Biden bill would allow one federal habeas petition filed not more than six months after final state conviction.

Criminal justice, Administration of, Administration of criminal justice

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Florida flunks death counsel test

Article Abstract:

A federal district court ruled in Hill v. Butterworth that Florida's system for appointing counsel for capital defendants did not ensure the prisoners with competent counsel as required by the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act. The law was designed to reduce the abuse of the habeas corpus procedure and states can take advantage of the law if they meet the requirements for giving indigent capital defendants counsel. Other states are responding to the new law in various ways.

Court-appointed counsel, Court appointed counsel, Legal assistance to prisoners, Prisoner's legal assistance

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