The effectiveness of our judicial system in administering justice with reasonable dispatch in capital cases is open to question when judges impose the death penalty under the law but executions are delayed repeatedly by appeals to higher courts. A press association story reported recently that since the U.S. Supreme court reinstated the death penalty six years ago, the number of persons condemned to die has risen to 1013 in the 36 states that allow capital punishment. But only four have been executed – Gary Gilmore. Jan. 17, 1977 in Utah; John Spenkelink, May 25. 1979 in Florida; Jesse Bishop Oct. 22, 1979 in Nevada; and Steven T. Judy, March 9, 1981 in Indiana. The intent here is not to argue the pros and cons of the death penalty. It is to say that if capital punishment is the law and sentences are imposed properly under it. these should be carried out after a reasonable period of appeals. When “due process” is dragged out for years. respect for the law deteriorates and the claimed value of the death penalty as a crime deterrent is lost. Few would deny a condemned person the full rights of appeal. But how long should the process take? How many appeals? Truman Roberts, state criminal court judge in Texas was quoted as saying a convict sentenced to death row virtually is assured of getting a stay when he appeals to a federal court. in that state. 161 persons have been sentenced to lethal injections. Houston attorney Will Gray who represents about two dozen death row inmates expects that ultimately ”a bunch” of death row occupants will be executed. Normally, though. you can figure “probably four or five years” to exhaust all the legal remedies, he estimates. Some cases have taken much longer. For example. in Utah William A. Andrews and Dale S. Pierre (who has changed his last name to Selbyi still are under death sentence for the infamous slaying of three people in the Ogden Hi-Fi Shop April 22. 1974. Sometimes appeals by “outside parties” such as civil rights organizations. are against the will of condemned killers. Just recently the Supreme Court refused to dismiss an appeal filed on behalf of Dickie Gaines. 22. convicted of two 1978 murders in Illinois. Gaines has said he wants to drop the appeal and die. You’ll recall that Gilmore voluntarily went before a Utah firing squad after the courts denied appeals filed by others. Gilmore convicted of one murder and charged with another, first fought for his freedom. Later he accepted the penalty and asked that he be permitted to “die with dignity. like a man.” Shortly before his execution, Gilmore addressed an “open letter” to all those opposing his “legal execution ” mentioning particularly the ACLU, NAACP legal defense fund, and “sundry assorted lawyers” for other condemned criminals. He told them bluntly to “butt out of my life. Butt out of my death. It doeslnot concern you What right have you to impose your particular wants or attitudes on my life?” Whatever the actual rights attitudes and interests of such groups. the judicial system should not allow a case to besidetracked unduly. Growing death row rosters suggest that “due process” is not keeping pace. Indeed, with more than 1,000 on death rows and only a token number of executions one wonders what the situation will be like in 10 or 20 years. Some have urged restricting appeals to one trip through all steps to the Supreme Court. That seems a fair and logical suggestion. Defense lawyers should be able to cram all legal objections within that framework. including technicalities – alleged errors in arrest and trial procedures. etc. which have come, in some instances, to overshadow the basic issue of innocence or guilt. in any case. it’s time to put our judicial performance in capital cases under scrutiny and determine whether justice is being carried out in the manner envisioned under the law.