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VOL. 43 | NO. 11 | Friday, March 15, 2019
Tennessee House OKs bill to nix 1 court death penalty review
NASHVILLE (AP) — As U.S. executions hover near historically low levels, a bill passed by the Tennessee House aims to remove one state court's review before putting inmates to death.
The House voted 73-22 Monday for Republican Rep. Mary Littleton's legislation to skip Tennessee's Court of Criminal Appeals and provide automatic state Supreme Court death penalty reviews. The Senate could follow this week.
Court of Criminal Appeals Judge John Everett Williams has said his court's last four death penalty reviews took three to six months. Federal courts account for most of the sometimes-three-decades of death penalty court reviews.
The bill is named for Dickson County Sheriff's Sgt. Daniel Baker, who was killed in May. Baker's family applauded from the gallery Monday. Two people charged in Baker's death are approaching trial.
Tennessee executed three inmates in 2018.