Make death convictions certain (editorial)
Published: Wednesday, October 05, 2011, 9:35 AM     Updated: Wednesday, October 05, 2011, 9:48 AM
 By John Peck, The Huntsville Times The Huntsville Times
 
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama _ Should a condemned inmate be put to death even if his lawyers failed to meet a filing deadline for an appeal?

That's something the U.S. Supreme Court will decide in the case of misdirected paperwork for Alabama death row inmate Cory Maples.

 
OUR VIEW: The U.S. Supreme Court shouldn't allow an Alabama Death Row inmate to be executed without federal review of his case
Published: Tuesday, October 04, 2011, 5:45 AM
 By Birmingham News editorial board The Birmingham News
 
Does the U.S. Supreme Court value life, albeit a deeply flawed one, as much as it does a piece of property?

That, in a manner of speaking, is at the crux of a case involving a Death Row inmate from Alabama that the high court will hear today.

Alabama is a step from executing Cory Maples for a reason so grievously wrong that the case argued Tuesday at the Supreme Court should leave no doubt why the death penalty should be abolished. Besides being barbaric, case after case is rife with constitutional defects.

Wall Street Journal
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is hearing the case of an Alabama death row inmate who missed a court deadline because two lawyers at a venerable New York firm handling his appeal moved on to other jobs and a court notice was returned to sender, address unknown.

State and federal courts upheld Cory Maples' death sentence and relied on the missed deadline to refuse to consider his claims that he received inadequate representation, dating back to his trial on charges he gunned down two friends in 1995.

While I am happy that the United States Supreme Court has decided to review Mr. Maples' case, and hopefully clean up our mess, I do not understand why our State is deferring its MAILROOM ERROR to the United States Supreme Court instead of correcting its own error - - particularly in light of the fact that this error could result in the loss of a life. Yet, If this were a civil action seeking monetary damages, Maples would have a bona fide State negligence claim and injunctive relief!!!

Sherryl Snodgrass Caffey

Cory Maples' 'mailroom error' case gets U.S. Supreme Court hearing
Published: Sunday, October 02, 2011, 7:00 AM
 By Mary Orndorff -- The Birmingham News The Birmingham News
 

WASHINGTON -- The Alabama Death Row inmate who lost his chance to appeal because of misdirected paperwork becomes the focal point Tuesday of a national debate over whether states are providing adequate legal aid to the condemned after their conviction.

September 30, 2011
The Honorable Governor Robert Bentley
State Capitol N 104
11 S. Union St. # 600
Montgomery, AL 36130-2751

Dear Governor Bentley,