USA - Tennessee. Senate Judiciary Committee passes SB 0400 to cut appeals

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted favorably Tuesday to pass HB 0258/SB 0400. The bill would remove the appeal to the court of criminal appeals in death penalty cases and provide for automatic direct review by the Tennessee Supreme Court. The bill is now headed to the Senate floor. The Committee voted favorably for Republican Sen. John Stevens' bill, despite a judge's testimony that his court takes less than a year of sometimes 3 decades of court action before executions. Court of Criminal Appeals Judge John Everett Williams told senators his court completed its last four death penalty reviews within 3 to 6 months. He said changing the law would add more challenges in the federal court system, saying attorneys could argue it's unfair that death penalty cases are getting less review in state courts than lesser offenses.