USA - South Dakota. The House Judiciary Committee approves SB 42 seeking limit on appeals by death-row inmates

The House Judiciary Committee at the request of the Office of the Attorney General approves 10-3 SB 42 seeking limit on appeals by death-row inmates. Attorney General Marty Jackley said that under the bill, convicts who lose a first direct appeal usually could file only one secondary appeal. State law currently puts no limit on those secondary appeals, called habeus corpus petitions. Those petitions generally argue that a convict's constitutional rights were violated, and they often contend the person's previous lawyers made mistakes. The bill would limit convicts to one secondary appeal, unless new evidence is discovered or an appeals court recognizes a new constitutional right that would apply to the case. Those secondary appeals also would have to be filed within two years of when the first direct appeal was decided or new evidence was discovered. The attorney general said the bill's limits on secondary appeals are the same as those applied in 31 other states and the federal court system.