Georgia Accounted For Nearly Half Of All Executions In 2016
Georgia has dethroned Texas. First when Georgia created a more business friendly environment and now in the number of executions.
America saw 20 executions in 2016, nine of which came from Georgia. That’s nearly half of the executions nationwide. It’s the most inmates Georgia has put to death in the 40 years since the Supreme Court allowed executions. Prior to this year, Georgia’s record was five executions in 1987.
There are a plethora of reasons for Georgia’s high number of executions, notably the backlog that exists in death row. An execution can be halted for months at time while courts answer legal questions. The backlog is also attributed to various pauses in executions. They were halted from July 2012 to February 2013 while Georgia changed its execution drug from three drugs to one drug. It again paused from July 2013 to May 2014 while legal questions swirled around the new execution drugs.
According to Attorney General Chris Carr, there are no inmates eligible for execution in Georgia at the moment.
While other states are decreasing their use of execution, Georgia is in a position to continue its use of the death penalty. If anything, leaders have made it easier to find an inmate on death row.
Correction: It had previously said there are no inmates on death row in Georgia. There are currently 68 death row cases; however, there are no inmates eligible for execution at the moment.
About Author
Will Kremer
Will is an active member of the Georgia Republican grassroots. He previously served as Chairman of the Georgia Association of College Republicans, 2nd Vice Chairman of the 7th District Republican Party, and Treasurer of the Forsyth County Republican Party. Promise Land = Forsyth County.
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The twitterverse sends a clarification/explanation of the line “…there are no inmates on death row in Georgia at the moment.” Per my favorite anonymous lawyer Dash Riptide and Brunswick reporter Wes Wolfe, there are 68 death row cases working their way through the appeals process in Georgia. There are no individuals currently eligible for execution.
The Georgia death penalty cases are mostly from the 1980/90s. The current long, incessant appeal process result in fewer district attorneys asking for the death penalty and fewer juries imposing the death penalty.
Come to Georgia, where you’re more likely to be executed than anywhere else in the country!
A lot of conservatives get bunchy having to get used to new social standards like ‘political correctness , but I get bunchy with new, seemingly obtuse techie terms like “pingback”. Pingback? Don’t we already have a word for what that means?