Georgia: ABA PANEL RECOMMENDS CAPITAL MORATORIUM
An American Bar Association panel recommended a moratorium on the death penalty, citing many flaws in Georgia's administration of capital punishment.
A leading problem is that the state doesn't guarantee an attorney for an inmate filing constitutional appeals against a death sentence.
The Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Assessments Project also cited racial disparity and jurors' misunderstanding of instructions from the court.
Georgia is one of 16 states that the ABA selected for study to try to improve the effectiveness of capital punishment.
The other states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
Inf.: ABA Georgia report, www.abanei.org/ moratorium/assessmentproject/georgia.html.
