Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> StandDown Texas Project

Criminal Law

: StandDown Texas Project

Proportionality Review Retained in Georgia

By Steve Hall

"Death-penalty review still part of Georgia law," is the title of Bill Rankin's report in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution.In a surprise turnaround, the state Senate on Tuesday voted to retain the so-called proportionality review for death-penalty cases after a key lawmaker said its removal would make the state's capital punishment law vulnerable to a legal attack.Sen. Seth Harp (R-Midland) told fellow senators that if the requirement were removed, it would prompt new appeals and cause delays of five to 10 years before death sentences can be carried out."It'll give the lawyers who defend these creatures a whole ?nother round of appeals," he said.The proportionality review, conducted by the Georgia Supreme Court in every death-penalty appeal, is intended to guard against the possibility of a capital sentence being arbitrarily imposed...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on April 28, 2010 (boomark / email).