Timely Justice Act.

Merely to assert that something is "fair" does not make it so. In fact, a baseless or misleading assertion can actually make something less fair by creating a false sense of confidence in an illusion of fairness.

It seems that this is exactly what has been accomplished by the joint legislative-judicial committee on capital representation, according to "highlights" of the committee's recommendations as detailed in the January 15 News.

The committee was created ostensibly to tweak the so-called "Timely Justice Act," legislation that would indisputably expedite the execution process. The committee's recommendation to extend the period of time for a judge to execute someone from 60 to 90 days is hardly a meaningful change. Likewise, it makes no practical...