Today, we’re tracking the average lag time from filing of the certified record on appeal to the order appointing direct appeal death penalty counsel. The average wait was 416.35 days in 1990, 735.24 in 1991, 620.48 days in 1992, 743.65 days in 1993, 673.29 days in 1994, 921.31 days in 1995, 542.63 days in 1996, 968.13 days in 1997, 975 days in 1998 and 1,360.17 days at the end of the decade in 1999.

The average between 2000 and 2009 was relatively steady, but remained at between two and a half and three and a quarter years: 1,161.87 (2000), 1,209.64 (2001), 1,007.43 (2002), 1,093.05 (2003), 1,250.86 (2004), 1,343.15 (2005), 1.079.79 (2006), 910.91 (2007), 1,158.96 (2008) and 1,204.04 days in 2009.

Although it’s been down a bit this year, the average lag time has increased to between four and four and a half years in the past ten years. The average was 1,314.83 in 2010, 1,486 in 2011, 1,638.28 in 2012, 1,645.72 in 2013, 1,732.45 in 2014, 1,398.76 in 2015, 1,798.48 in 2016, 1,645.7 in 2017, 1,799.5 in 2018 and 1,348.07 days so far this year.

Join back here next Thursday as we continue our review of the death penalty lag time numbers.

Image courtesy of Flickr by Ted W (no changes).