AJC: Bar Association seeks halt to Georgia executions

AJC reports on ABA's report, which won't go far in GOPeorgia:

Georgia should place a moratorium on seeking the death penalty because it cannot ensure fairness in defendants' trials and appeals, according to a new report by the American Bar Association.

The report, to be published Monday, found seven flaws that compromise Georgia's administration of the death penalty. In two instances, the ABA report said, Georgia makes it tougher for capital defendants to avoid execution than any other state.

Georgia stands alone in the nation in not guaranteeing lawyers to death row inmates at a critical stage of their appeals, the report noted.

The ABA report also found that Georgia has set the toughest standard in the United States for a defendant to prove he or she is mentally retarded. Georgia and 25 other states prohibit the execution of a prisoner with mental retardation.

Asked if Gov. Sonny Perdue would consider a moratorium, his spokesman, Dan McLagan, said simply: "Nope."