To reform habeas corpus.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Title I: Post Conviction Petitions: General Habeas Corpus

Reform

Title II: Special Procedures for Collateral Proceedings in

Capital Cases

Title III: Funding for Litigation of Federal Habeas Corpus

Petitions in Capital Cases

Title I: Post Conviction Petitions: General Habeas Corpus Reform - Amends the Federal judicial code to establish a one-year statute of limitations for habeas corpus actions brought by State prisoners.

(Sec 102) Vests authority to issue certificates of probable cause for appeal of habeas corpus orders exclusively in the courts of appeals.

(Sec. 104) Permits denial on the merits of habeas corpus writs notwithstanding the failure to exhaust State remedies.

(Sec. 105) Establishes a two-year statute of limitations for habeas corpus actions brought by Federal prisoners.

Title II: Special Procedures for Collateral Proceedings in Capital Cases - Sets forth special habeas corpus procedures in capital cases, including provisions regarding: (1) the appointment of counsel for indigent prisoners and limitations on claims of the ineffectiveness or incompetence of counsel; (2) mandatory stays of execution, limits on stays of execution, and successive petitions; (3) time requirements and tolling rules for the filing of petitions; (4) evidentiary hearings, the scope of Federal review, and district court adjudication; (5) certificates of probable cause (inapplicable except when a second or successive petition is filed); (6) application to State unitary review procedure; and (7) limitation periods for determining petitions.

Title III: Funding for Litigation of Federal Habeas Corpus Petitions in Capital Cases - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to require the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to provide grants to the States to support litigation pertaining to Federal habeas corpus petitions in capital cases.