Why do prisoners spend so long on death row?
<p>In the USA, once appeals have been exhausted, why do prisoners spend so much time on death row?</p>

<p>My personal opinions on death penalty aside, I would expect that once the sentence is final, it should be carried out without much further delay.</p>

<p>The time spent on death row is largely due to appeals, <em>habeas</em> proceedings, and a growing backlog. The time between an actual <em>final appeal</em> and execution is not astonishingly long. (However, "final" appeal is hard to pinpoint because a death row inmate can file successive <em>habeas</em> petitions at the federal level).</p>

<p>To highlight the relatively quick turnaround between a "final" appeal and execution, Richard Glossip lost an appeal to the US Supreme Court (<em><a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-7955_aplc.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Glossip v. Gross</a></em>) on June 29, 2015 and was scheduled for execution in Oklahoma on September 30, 2015, a delay of 93 days (<em><a href="http://www.sos.ok.gov/documents/Executive/1004.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Mary Fallin Executive Order 2015-42</a></em>). Due to unavailability of a particular drug, the execution has been further delayed until November 6, 2015 (<em>ibid</em>).</p>

<p>The rest of this answer explains the long delay between initial conviction/sentencing and eventual execution, using California as an example.</p>

<p>In California, since 1978, approximately 20-40 people have been added to death row per year, while fewer than 10 per year are executed. (<em><a href="http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&amp;context=ncippubs" rel="nofollow noreferrer">California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice Final Report</a></em>, p. 121)</p>

<p>There are generally three different appeals available to the defendant: a direct appeal to the state Supreme Court, a writ of <em>habeas corpus</em> to the state Supreme Court, and a writ of <em>habeas corpus</em> to the federal district court. (<em>ibid</em>)</p>

<p>The federal district court ruling regarding the <em>habeas</em> petition can be appealed to the 9th Circuit. That Circuit's ruling can be appealed to the US Supreme Court. (<em>ibid</em>)</p>

<p>The Commission identified several points that are responsible for the long delays in California (<em>ibid</em>):</p>

<ul>
<li>delay in appointing counsel for direct appeal (3-5 year delay)</li>
<li>delay in scheduling a case to the California Supreme Court (2.25 years between application and oral argument)</li>
<li>delay in appointing counsel for the state <em>habeas</em> petition (8-10 year delay)</li>
<li>delay in deciding the state <em>habeas</em> petition (22 months)</li>
<li>delay in deciding federal <em>habeas</em> petition (6.2 years)</li>
<li>delay in appealing the federal <em>habeas</em> petition to the 9th District (2.2 years)</li>
</ul>

<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/TylRM.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/TylRM.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>The US Supreme Court also publishes <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/reportersguide.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">a primer on the death penalty appeals  and the <em>habeas</em> process</a> (see especially pp. 8-10).</p>

<p>Because taking every option to appeal the execution takes so long. </p>

<p>You get put in death row after the first sentence. However you still have the option to appeal the sentence (using an attorney as a go between) which will delay the execution during the appeal process.</p>

<p>Only if you don't decide to appeal will the sentence be carried out swiftly. But not everyone is that accepting of getting killed.</p>

united-states criminal-law capital-punishment