Bill Clinton: “In death penalty cases, it normally takes 8 years to exhaust the appeals; it's ridiculous. And if you have multiple…”

“In death penalty cases, it normally takes 8 years to exhaust the appeals; it's ridiculous. And if you have multiple convictions, it could take even longer. So there is a strong sense in the Congress, I think among Members of both parties, that we need to get down to sort of one clear appeal, we need to cut the time delay on the appeals dramatically, and that it ought to be done in the context of this terrorism legislation so that it would apply to any prosecutions brought against anyone indicted in Oklahoma. And I think it ought to be done. You know, we have some differences about exactly what the details are and what the best and fairest way to do--to apply to all criminal cases, but I think it definitely ought to be done. We have--for 15 years, I have been trying to get Congress to clarify this. And I have strongly believed it for a very long time, since I was an attorney general and a Governor and I had been on the receiving end of these interminable appeals. Mr. King. Are there those in Congress who think you're against this? The Vice President. There are some in both parties who, in good conscience, think it would cause problems for a criminal procedure. Mr. King. Constitutionally. The Vice President. Well, they're worried about it. But the President's for it. And if they want to put the right version of it on this bill, fine.”