By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery AL – A death penalty assessment team formed by the American Bar Association shows Alabama's capital punishment system has problems with inadequate legal representation and lack of access to DNA testing. The 8-member team was led by University of Alabama professor Daniel Filler. It spent 20 months studying how the death penalty has been used in this state, and says capital punishment should be suspended until fairness can be ensured, and Alabama ends the power of a judge to override a jury's recommended sentence. Attorney General Troy King says the American Bar Association is biased against the death penalty, noting the assessment team has only one prosecutor and no representative of crime victims. King also says the "no one can point to an innocent person in Alabama who has been executed". His Democratic opponent in November Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson Jr. says he hopes the findings prompt public discussion on the matter.