(I watched this on Ala. Public TV on June 22, 2004;  I like his first statement below.  I am going to put his quote under my email signature for a while)

    He should be held to this same statement in Patrick Swiney's case also.  His concern is that a man has been on death row for killing a Sheriff the whole time that he (Troy King) has gone from elementary school to the AG's office (25 yrs), even worse, an innocent man, PS has been in a cage unlawfully for 16 years. Wonder which he'd consider to be the more horrible of the two?

King recounted a watershed event from his youth that made him a strong supporter of capital punishment. He recalled growing up in Elba, where Coffee County Sheriff C.F. "Neil" Grantham was shot to death in 1979. 

A jury convicted his killer, Billy Joe Magwood, of capital murder two years later, but twenty-five years later Magwood remains on death row.

"I was able to go from being in elementary school to being the Attorney General and he still sits in prison," King said. "That is outrageous."

Bryan Stephenson, an anti-death penalty activist from Montgomery said the 13 years spent on death row before execution is only an average. 

"Most prisoners spend much less than that, and it would surprise you how many are proved innocent before they are killed," Stephenson said.

"These reversals speak for themselves, and if there is even a chance that the state is killing an innocent person, it should not be carried out," Stephenson said. "We cannot expect to teach people not to kill by killing ourselves."

A spokesperson from Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley's office commented on the reason inmates appeals drag on for years. 

"The reason for these hang-ups is funding," she said. "The state of Alabama needs to budget more money towards the justice system in order to move these appeals along." 

King said he believes funding is not the issue. 

He believes some of the cases have languished partly because assistant attorney generals have feared judges would reverse convictions on technicalities if prosecutors pressed too hard. 

King said if these cases deserve to be overturned, it is "better to do it sooner than later." 

Although, he agrees all cases need a fair resolution, he said, "I seek justice for the victims, and this justice comes at a price. 

"These are not people that have been arrested for shoplifting, they have committed heinous acts and barbaric murders and they deserve to pay for their crimes," King said. "Punishment must be swift and sure or it is just simply not effective."

"It is not enough just to chase justice, we must enforce it, and it is my promise to the people of Alabama that I will do just that," he said.

King's plan is to petition courts aggressively and speed up appeals using force against appellate judges who refuse to rule. 

He said delayed appeals cost taxpayers a lot of money. 

"These acts call for expensive punishment, but drawing the sentencing and appeal process out is only going to cost the people of Alabama more money."