Blind Dates: When Should the Statute of Limitations Begin to Run on a Method-of-Execution Challenge?

This Article is the first to take a comprehensive look at the issue of statute-of-limitations accrual in method-of-execution cases. In other words, when does the clock start ticking on a death row inmate's right to challenge the way in which the state intends to execute him? Most circuit courts have held that method-of-execution challenges accrue at the completion of the direct appeal process. This means that death row inmates in these jurisdictions must file method-of-execution challenges years, and sometimes even decades, before an actual execution is scheduled.

Although this approach has been the subject of much criticism, even the dissenting view would tie the accrual date to a particular stage of the death row inmate's appeals.