www.texas-justice.com  

© 2000 The Washington Post Company

Sentencing Sequence

Here is what generally happens to a defendant convicted of a capital crime in Virginia, from sentencing to execution:

 

Jury recommends sentence.

 

Two to three months later, judge imposes sentence.

 

Inmate has 21 days to ask for a new trial and enter new evidence.

 

Automatic appeal to Virginia Supreme Court.

 

If the appeal and a request for a new hearing are denied, the defendant has 90 days to file a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

If the Supreme Court rejects it, the defendant has 60 days to go back to state court to file a state habeas corpus appeal.

 

Habeas corpus appeals begin the second round of appeals for an inmate. They focus on trial flaws, such as bad lawyers or hidden evidence.

 

If the Virginia Supreme Court rejects the state habeas claim and a request for another hearing, the defendant has a year to file a federal habeas petition. But in Virginia, the attorney general is required to go directly to court to ask for an execution date to be set within 60 days, forcing the defendant to immediately ask for a stay of execution. Once a stay is granted, the federal courts usually give defendants two to six months to file the habeas petition.

 

Unlike many states, where those appeals go to lower courts, Virginia sends them directly to the state Supreme Court, which can grant it, reject it or order an evidentiary hearing. The Virginia Supreme Court has not ordered an evidentiary hearing since 1995.

 

The federal district court may order hearings or discovery on specific issues, and in several recent cases, has ordered a new trial or sentencing hearing. Either side then has 30 days to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.

 

The 4th Circuit has not approved a new trial or sentencing hearing in a Virginia death penalty case since 1988.

 

If the 4th Circuit rejects the appeal, the local court is required to set an execution date, usually within 60 days.

 

The defendant can appeal again to the U.S. Supreme Court and ask the governor for clemency.

 

The U.S. Supreme Court does not usually act until a few days before the scheduled execution. Traditionally, the governor does not act until after the U.S. Supreme Court, usually only hours before the execution time.

 

Since September 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court has stopped five Virginia executions at this stage, although two of those stays have since been lifted.

 

© 2000 The Washington Post Company