Title: united states - Why do prisoners spend so long on death row? - Law Stack Exchange
Headings: Why do prisoners spend so long on death row?
Why do prisoners spend so long on death row?
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Content: The time between an actual final appeal and execution is not astonishingly long. ( However, "final" appeal is hard to pinpoint because a death row inmate can file successive habeas petitions at the federal level). To highlight the relatively quick turnaround between a "final" appeal and execution, Richard Glossip lost an appeal to the US Supreme Court ( Glossip v. Gross) on June 29, 2015 and was scheduled for execution in Oklahoma on September 30, 2015, a delay of 93 days ( Mary Fallin Executive Order 2015-42 ). Due to unavailability of a particular drug, the execution has been further delayed until November 6, 2015 ( ibid ). The rest of this answer explains the long delay between initial conviction/sentencing and eventual execution, using California as an example. In California, since 1978, approximately 20-40 people have been added to death row per year, while fewer than 10 per year are executed. ( California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice Final Report, p. 121)
There are generally three different appeals available to the defendant: a direct appeal to the state Supreme Court, a writ of habeas corpus to the state Supreme Court, and a writ of habeas corpus to the federal district court. ( ibid)
The federal district court ruling regarding the habeas petition can be appealed to the 9th Circuit. That Circuit's ruling can be appealed to the US Supreme Court. (