Georgia rebuffs death penalty moratorium proposal News
Georgia rebuffs death penalty moratorium proposal

[JURIST] State officials and politicians in Georgia have indicated that there are no immediate plans to add death penalty [JURIST news archive] reform to the legislative agenda, despite the highly critical Georgia Death Penalty Assessment Report [DOC text; additional materials] released Monday by the American Bar Association (ABA) [association website]. The assessment pointed out several flaws in the current system and recommended a moratorium [JURIST report] on all death penalty trials until the problems are fixed, but so far there does not seem to be support for imposing a moratorium from either the governor or candidates in the gubernatorial election. The ABA also called on Georgia to guarantee convicted murderers access to an attorney at habeas corpus appeals, but state Senate leaders say the move would be far too expensive. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has more.