Why Do The Prisoners Have To Sit So Long On Death Row?

Question

While i'm not defending the horrendous acts they are accused of committing, I was wondering why it takes so long to execute death row inmates? I am not saying they should be killed off immediately, because I am not an advocate of the death penalty, but then again, neither am I against it totally...I think every situation is different. However, why do some inmates have to stay there so long? I read an article on this very subject, and they mentioned several cases. In one situation, a man committed a crime years ago, and by the time he was finally put to death, he was a lot older, and had some illness, where he no longer even remembered the crime he committed. I don't know if it was Alzheimers, but it was some disease that afflicted him once he got older. Not that this changed the fact that the man committed the crime, but why have the inmates sit so long? Why wait until this man is old and elderly, before finally making the decision to carry out his judgement?

Answer 1

they don't have to

A death penalty case goes into automatic appeal, making sure every last issue of the case was valid before execution. In many cases this takes years, or even decades.

However, the prisoner can ask that the appeals process be dropped, and that sentence be carried out.

This is what happened with Timothy McVeigh, in fact. After he dropped his appeals, he was executed within months.

Answer 2

because the wheels of justice grind very slowly, and lawyers file appeal after appeal over every tiny shred of evidence that they think will save their clients from execution. And it takes time for justices to hear and act on those appeals, then sometimes it is referred to a higher court, and another higher court all the way to the United States Supreme Court who, other then the president of the United States, has the final say on appeals...there are countries in the world that still execute convicted murderers and even some thieves immediately after being found guilty, with no hope of appeals....

Answer 3

The reason they wait so long is the appeals process. They are trying to get the death sentence commuted to a lesser sentence, if not get the conviction overturned; so this wait is voluntary on the inmates' part. Those who choose not to fight the death sentence are executed much sooner.

Answer 4

Appeals

Answer 5

Each Appeal filed by Attorneys takes time and then you would have to go before the board which is a yearly, and then your denied and then the process repeats it self over and over, until it's time to be executed. There hundreds before you waiting to die. You have to serve at least 20 years before you get an execution date.

Answer 6

Because they keep appealing. McVeigh stopped his appeals, which is why he got executed faster. Then he changed his mind: too late.

Death penalty questions seem to crop up every few minutes on Y! Q/A.

Answer 7

It is because of the prisioners have the right to a couple of appeals. The judicial system takes a long time to appeal.

Answer 8

Most criminal attorneys file appeal after appeal. A prisoner can ask his attorney not to file any appeals, and in that case the sentence will be carried expeditiously.

Answer 9

I agree with about half of your statement . I was wondering why I have to pay for these WORTHLESS people to stay alive for so long ... As far as I'm concerned, they should be brought strait from the court room to the chair . Better yet I'll pay for the bullet .

Answer 10

The tax payer pay for the slime ball to drain the court systems with their appeals.