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There are several reasons.
1. One of the reasons it takes years is because the court is heavily backlogged. You might file an appeal and it could take months or even years before it gets in front of a judge.
2. Prosecution (and defense) will often purposely hide evidence that could hurt their case. It isn't that they break the law, they simply choose not to include it. When the defense hears about potential evidence that could help their client they appeal. The prosecution fights and it could be a while while we go back and forth and the court decides if they are going to allow that evidence in which could mean an new trial.
3. Mental health. There are certain laws in place that are meant as a safety buffer that hopefully make certain that we don't execute someone innocent or mentally handicapped. Even if the person who is found guilty pleads guilty and admits to the crime the system will go through these steps just to be certain. If the person fights the execution then we could go through these steps and others.
4. Defense lawyers are smart. If the defense has a few different ideas they will not present them at once. They put one up on appeal. If it fails then they put the next up on appeal and so on. This can carry the case on for a long time.
In the end all of these are allowed because we hope that we are taking steps to make certain we are not executing innocent people. Of course, all of this takes time and money.
The death penalty in general doesn't work. It doesn't deter people from committing those types of crimes and it does not good for society as a whole. All it does is cost tax payers money and clog up the court system.
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