Bar Association Calls For Suspended Executions

{Frankfort, Kentucky}...The American Bar Association is calling on Kentucky to suspend executions, saying there are too many errors in the system. Wednesday, the association released a 2 year study of Kentucky's capital punishment system. In the study, American Bar Association team said there are serious flaws in Kentucky's administration of the death penalty. The study found that more than 60% of capital convictions in the state had been overturned. The study says problems include high case loads and low pay for public defenders who represent people accused of capital crimes, no rule to preserve evidence for as long as someone is in prison, meaning they might miss a chance for DNA tests that could exonerate them, and confusion among jurors about their role in deciding whether to recommend a death sentence. The study found that of the 78 people sentenced to death in Kentucky since 1976, 52 later had that initial sentence overturned because of errors at the trial. Kentucky executions are already on hold pending the outcome of a case in Franklin Circuit Court.