As U.S. executions hover near historically low levels, a bill passed by the Tennessee House aims to remove one state court’s review before putting inmates to death which ultimately would speed up the process of getting a death row inmate – to execution
The House voted 73-22 Monday for legislation to skip Tennessee’s Court of Criminal Appeals and provide automatic state Supreme Court death penalty reviews. The Senate could follow this week.
Court of Criminal Appeals Judge John Everett Williams has said his court’s last four death penalty reviews took three to six months. Federal courts account for most of the sometimes-three-decades of death penalty court reviews.
Tennessee executed three inmates last year.