Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange says one of his goals for the legislative session starting Tuesday is to shorten the appeal time in death penalty cases.
At news conferences across the state, the Republican attorney general said going through a capital murder trial and all the appeals can take nearly two decades.
He's proposing a bill that would have the first and second round of appeals go on simultaneously. The first round is a direct appeal of the case. The second round is where the defendant contends he didn't have adequate legal representation at trial. Strange says that would give a swifter end to the process.
Strange also wants passage of a bill that would make any killing at a school, daycare or child care facility a capital offense.