For more than five years, Joseph Kenneth Colone Jr. has been jailed awaiting his capital murder trial and a possible death penalty sentence. Bourque said his client's jail stay has been extended because of attempts by Colone's counsel to move the case out of Jefferson County and because of a revolving door of attorneys assigned to the case. Taking five years to go to trial on a capital murder charge is "not unique," said Bourque, referring to capital murder trials. The Sixth Amendment guarantees a "speedy and public trial," but what is considered speedy is up for interpretation, said Melissa Hamilton, a law professor at the University of Houston and former corrections officer. Often, defense attorneys - not prosecutors - push back trial dates in death penalty cases, she said.