Kentucky AG Coleman urges federal help to speed up death penalty cases, end delays
FRANKFORT, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman is urging the federal government to help end delays in carrying out the death penalty, joining a 16-state coalition that supports a U.S. Department of Justice proposal to streamline federal review of state capital murder convictions.
According to a press release from Coleman, nationally, the average time spent on death row is more than two decades. In Kentucky, the wait is reportedly even longer.
Vincent Stopher’s case has been pending in federal district court since 2008, the release reported. Stopher was sentenced to death in 1998 for the 1997 murder of a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputy. Following Coleman’s additional focus on delivering justice to surviving families, Stopher’s case was finally submitted for a ruling in January 2025.
Federal law provides that death penalty challenges should not stall in federal court, but a regulation adopted by the Obama administration has created what Coleman describes as seemingly endless bureaucratic delays.
On his first day in office, President Trump issued an executive order prioritizing victims and surviving families in capital cases and promising to work collaboratively with states. The executive order read in part:
“It is the policy of the United States to ensure that the laws that authorize capital punishment are respected and faithfully implemented, and to counteract the politicians and judges who subvert the law by obstructing and preventing the execution of capital sentences.”
“Too many convicted killers are seeking to avoid justice through delays in the imposition of the death penalty. We will continue fighting to protect the verdicts lawfully delivered by Kentucky juries and the families who deserve justice,” Coleman said.
In March, Coleman’s legal team argued before Franklin Circuit Court for the dismissal of the main legal roadblock to the lawful imposition of the death penalty. A dismissal of the case would clear the way for about a dozen executions, Coleman added.
Coleman joined the Alabama-led letter along with attorneys general from Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas.
