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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| The Problem With 'Hang-Time' |
| 2009-10-12 |
| Since Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas took office in 2005, he has asked for death sentences in murder cases more than 120 times - more than any other top prosecutor in Arizona history. His support of the death penalty is unwavering: He has run for election and re-election on the pledge he will continue to seek capital sentences. Consequently, the number of death-penalty defendants swelled faster than the court system could handle. There just weren't enough judges, prosecutors and qualified defense attorneys available. At the beginning of 2009, there were 129 defendants awaiting trial in capital cases in Maricopa County, most of them years beyond the 18-month time period in which, under court rules, they are supposed to be tried. But now, the number of capital cases is being whittled down rapidly. Faced with a growing backlog and further delays in justice, the Superior Court has made some aggressive changes. Presiding Criminal Judge Gary Donahoe and other leaders of the Superior Court are refusing to postpone trial dates in death-penalty cases and demanding that prosecutors and defense attorneys discuss settlements, which would mean less than a death sentence. The goal is to apply pressure to resolve cases more quickly, but both Thomas and defense attorneys question whether justice is being best served. Court officials are standing firm. "I think firm trial dates settle cases," Donahoe said. "People start looking at their cases when it gets close to their trial date and start making decisions as to whether they want to go to trial or settle it. They can plead, go to trial, dismiss. We don't really care which. But we want to get the case resolved." So far, the tactic has worked. Despite his hard-line pledges, Thomas this year has allowed 27 defendants who faced the death penalty to plead to life sentences or less. That's nearly twice as many as last year and eight times as many as in 2005. Thomas also has filed fewer notices of intent to seek the death penalty, or death notices. As of today, there are only 100 capital defendants in trial or awaiting trial. There is a schedule to try or settle more than 20 of those cases before year-end. The real issue here is that too many scoundrels have complicated the process far more than it ever should have been. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #1 too many scoundrels ie the legal ruling caste which is composed of a self selected group of practitioners who own and operate one third of the government to impose their view of society on the rest of us. Their repeated and constant obstruction to the death penalty is proof that they neither support nor believe in a democracy or republic, but just enough of the facade of one to keep the serfs in place. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-10-12 09:37 |