Bill promising less time appealing Louisiana death row cases clears committee
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — An effort is underway in the regular legislative session to streamline the appeals process for death row cases in Louisiana. Proponents want a faster system.
Lawmakers and Attorney General Liz Murrill described the legislation as prioritizing victims over criminals.
House Bill 675 by Rep. Brian Glorioso (R-Slidell) would reform what's known as the Post Conviction Relief system. If it becomes law, it will shorten the amount of time a death row inmate has to exhaust their appeals process. The limit would shorten from two years to one year.
Murrill spoke in favor of the bill, saying victims' families are subjected to years of heartbreaking court proceedings as defense attorneys file appeal after appeal. She invited one of those families to Monday's committee meeting, the Richards.
The so-called Cheneyville Slasher, Larry Roy, has been on death row since the 90s after killing two members of the Richard family.
'The question we should be asking is how did we go to a two-year time limit to 30 years,' said Murrill.
Murrill says that at some point, Roy was granted an evidentiary hearing, but he didn't pursue it immediately.
'And now in 2025, after a decade of sitting on that grant of relief, he's saying, 'Oh, I didn't get my hearing.' Yes, you did,' said Murrill.
Sally Richard, Roy's ex-girlfriend who survived the attack, spoke in favor of the bill, saying the long process has been difficult for her and her family.
'I can't rest at night. I'm having nightmares, I'm on medication, and half the time I still can't sleep,' said Richard.
Death row advocates spoke out against the bill, pointing to Louisiana's relatively high exoneration rate. They told members that when someone is exonerated in Louisiana, that's part of the current post-conviction relief system working. The bill will soon head to the House.
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Bill promising less time appealing Louisiana death row cases clears committee
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