Criminal System of Alabama

It has long been said that, the death penalty is a deterrent to crime and the system is operated in a fair and just method.

In the recent years the death penalty machine has been called into question over proof of innocent people being executed, questionable convictions and most recently the botched state sanctioned killing of Oklahoma’s Michael Lee Wilson, and Clayton Lockett dying of a heart attack some 40 minutes after the execution began. If so many mistakes can take place within a 40 minute period then ask yourself how many can take place over the span of 14 years and sometimes 30+?

The focus needs to be on how this entire process begins and what takes place to reach the point of execution. All of local district attorneys and state attorney generals, all say the same thing whenever speaking on the death penalty process. “It’s the convicted murderers and their attorneys that tie up the courts”, “also, we try to seek justice for victim’s families as fast as we can but, the court system is bogged down due to frivolous appeals”. THIS IS A LIE!!!!

As it be, if it was you in this situation, we all have “constitutional rights” and the right to “due process”. These are the foundation our great country was built and founded upon so these fundamental rights must not be impeded on.

The process begins with “state appeals” and post-conviction, aka federal appeals and it proceeds as:

Now, I’m not even going to get into the federal appellate courts because the courts above are in the process of a 14 year span and the last one hasn’t even been filed into yet. The deadlines are the amount of days that I (a petitioner) has to get prepared to file. In preparation it includes, legal research, supplementing the record, speaking to witnesses, case file shepardizing and the printing of the brief itself. Sometimes, the petitioner may get a 15 – 30 day extension and in more cases 45 days but, not often! Now, the state on the other hand, will get 45 days extensions automatic and majority of the time won’t ask for it until the 45^th day. I’ve even seen 60 days extensions get granted back to back. This is a 5 ½ month delay including the original timeline and sometimes longer.

After these delays have taken place it’s then up to court to rule and the Alabama courts are non-mandated and on no timeline to make a ruling. The state courts such as Criminal and Supreme sits on cases from 1 to 3 years before making a decision and I’ve personally seen as long as 8 years in the Criminal Court and then they denied the case. Allow me to make myself clear for all the pro-death supporters, I’m in no way claiming that every single man/woman on death row have their appeals take place in this manner. Some of them move extremely fast putting an end to the process and a life at the same time. I’m not gonna argue against you stating that “if they took a life then they should pay the same”. If you live the “eye for an eye” standard then who am I to question you r beliefs because I can’t say I wouldn’t feel the same if someone murdered my loved one but, what I can question is when something’s not right and people are being lied to or at the very least mislead.

Bringing out in the open and exposing the fact the states cronies (sorry, couldn’t resist) and courts are responsible for delays is a double edged sword.

If now the state was to say ”fine we’ll speed all of it up” then the petition is still screwed because then their case becomes shot through the system fast and, well, you know the outcome. Whether you believe in the death penalty or not you must believe in at the least, it be correct and the wrong person don’t get executed for a crime they didn’t commit. Let me ask a question, do you believe it’s harder for an innocent person to get off death row than a guilty one? The correct answer is yes! Shocked? Don’t be, it’s because of the ramifications behind a wrongful conviction not to mention the fear of a multi-million dollar lawsuit. Wrongful convictions are perpetual mistakes, and guilty going free are solvable ones or as the AG’s likes to say technicalities.

Like I’ve always said, the criminal justice system is exactly like a chess game except instead of a checkmate it’s ended in the saying “We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of …” that pause could be filled with one of your loved ones names, or maybe even yours! So, before you rush to condemn, convict or support Alabama’s death penalty protocol, please enlighten yourself before you become a statistic of your belief!

William Ziegler