The Effective Death Penalty Act, or H.R. 9868, was first proposed in 2009 and again in 2020. A clause in the U.S. Code that now controls the conditions under which a state prisoner may file a habeas corpus petition would be changed by the bill.
Johnson stated, “We’ve got innocent people on death row right now with no opportunity to show compelling new evidence of innocence,” in a statement that was made public on Wednesday. “The status quo is inhumane and unconstitutional.”
THE ATTORNEY FOR TEXAS DEATH ROW INMATE SAYS “THERE WAS NO CRIME” AS SHE MAKES A FINAL DISPUTE TO SAVE HIS LIFE.
A habeas corpus petition cannot be granted by a federal court under current law unless the petitioner has used up all available state court remedies. The purpose of this provision, according to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1999 explanation, “is to give the state courts a full and fair opportunity to resolve federal constitutional claims before those claims are presented to federal courts.”
