LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman joined a 16-state coalition asking the federal government to address delays in death penalty cases.
Coleman announced Monday that the coalition supports a proposal from the U.S. Department of Justice aimed at streamlining federal review of state capital murder convictions. According to the release, the average time spent on death row nationally is more than two decades.
In Kentucky, Coleman said it takes even longer. He cited the case of Vincent Stopher, who was sentenced to death in 1998 for the 1997 murder of a Jefferson County sheriff's deputy. His case has been pending in federal court since 2008 but was finally submitted for a ruling in January 2025.
"Too many convicted killers are seeking to avoid justice through delays in the imposition of the death penalty," Coleman said in the release. "We will continue fighting to protect the verdicts lawfully delivered by Kentucky juries and the families who deserve justice."
Federal law says death penalty challenges shouldn't stall in federal court, but Coleman cited a regulation from former President Barack Obama's administration as the reason for "seemingly endless bureaucratic delays."
Most recently, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January 2025 promising to work collaboratively with states so death penalty laws are "respected and faithfully implemented," and the laws counteract politicians and judges who "subvert the law by obstructing and preventing the execution of capital sentences."
Along with Kentucky, the Alabama-led coalition letter includes attorney generals from Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas.Â
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