"Don’t limit death-penalty appeals process," is the editorial published by the Wichita Eagle.
Even those impatient to see executions resume in Kansas should be wary of setting arbitrary time limits on the appeals process, as legislation in a House-Senate conference committee would do. And there are other concerns for Kansans to consider as next month’s 20th anniversary of the state’s death penalty approaches, including the law’s high costs.
As Rep. Steven Becker, R-Buhler, a retired district court judge, recently said: “When tinkering with the absolute punishment, we should be looking at ways to improve safeguards and decrease the likelihood of mistakes.”
Instead, Senate Substitute for House Bill 2389 sets a deadline of 3 1/2 years for the Kansas Supreme Court to hear death penalty appeals and limits the length of documents that can be filed in such appeals, among other accelerating changes. And in trying to save time the bill would cost money, requiring the budget of the Board of Indigents’ Defense Services to increase by $1.7 million for next year.
Earlier coverage of the Kansas legislation begins at the link.
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