Clay Crenshaw, chief of the attorney general's capital litigation unit, launched his campaign Tuesday for Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, calling for reform on death penalty appeals and promising to make speedy decisions on his cases.
Crenshaw, who is running as a Republican, said he plans to seek the seat currently held by Democrat Sue Bell Cobb, who has her eye on the race for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.
Crenshaw, 45, faces Julia Elizabeth "Beth" Kellum, a senior staff attorney at the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, in the GOP primary on June 6, 2006.
He said his top priority as an appeals judge would be to prevent capital murder cases from engaging in lengthy appeals.
Capital appeals "need repair because it takes too long for a capital case to go through the long appeals process."
He cited several recent death penalty cases that took decades to litigate, including that of John W. Peoples, whose appeals lasted 22 years before he was executed by lethal injection on Sept. 22. Peoples killed a Pell City family of three and drove off in their vintage sports car in 1983.
"It took 22 years for justice to be done," Crenshaw said, adding that such lengthy appeals periods frustrate victims, who realize litigation doesn't end at a conviction.
"Once a case is assigned to me I will decide it within six months. I believe that is a significant pledge when you consider that each judge on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals is assigned 500-600 cases a year," he said.
Crenshaw and Kellum, both graduates of the University of Alabama School of Law, each are embarking on their first race for public office.
Crenshaw began working in the attorney general's office upon graduation in 1988 and serves on the Criminal Rules Committee. He's overseen prosecution in about 100 capital cases since joining the capital case division in 1992.
Kellum has worked in the attorney general's office, been in private practice, and served as a staff attorney at the Alabama Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals. Since 2001, she has been senior staff attorney for Criminal Appeals Court Judge Kelli Wise and has reviewed all types of cases, including death penalty convictions.
Kellum, who announced her candidacy Sept. 30, said that experience should give her an edge over Crenshaw, noting that capital murder cases make up a small percentage of the court's caseload.
"Because of the caseload that we have you have to be able to hit the ground running," she said Tuesday. "I see how the court system works. I have the experience of working with the judges and seeing they review the cases and review the issues."
Crenshaw pointed out that capital cases are considered the most complex to litigate and bring out a variety of legal issues, often argued in federal courts.
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