Divided US Appeals Court Rules Against Ga. Death Row Inmate
Death row is seen at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015, in Jackson, Ga. The 76 death row inmates live in four “pods” of neatly kept single-inmate cells measuring just 6½ by 9 feet and feature a bed, sink, toilet and shelves. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A divided federal appeals court in Atlanta has ruled against an inmate on Georgia’s death row, prompting one dissenting judge to say she feared the decision will make it more difficult for death-row inmates to successfully challenge convictions and sentences.
Lawyers for condemned inmate Marion Wilson and the Georgia Attorney General both told the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that it should look at lengthy, detailed rulings by lower court judges when deciding merits of an inmate’s appeal.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the appeals court ruled that it needed only to look at shorter, summary opinions by the state Supreme Court.
Judge Jill Pryor wrote in her dissent that she feared the ruling would set a precedent that would make it less likely for inmates to get their death sentences overturned.
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