Delaware AG Won't Appeal State Supreme Court's Death Penalty Decision

WILMINGTON, De. (CBS) -- Delaware's attorney general says he will not appeal the state supreme court's decision to declare Delaware's death penalty law unconstitutional.

As for those, already sentenced to death row, Attorney General Matthew Denn says he believes the ruling cannot be applied retroactively. There are currently 13 men on death row in the state.

The attorney general's office released a statement on Monday explaining reasoning for the decision. It read in part:

Litigating and appealing these issues – a process that would likely take years before issues of both federal and state constitutional law were resolved -- would likely not only bring about the same result, but would also deny the families of victims sentencing finality. 

The decision to deem the law unconstitutional occurred on August 2.

The first state was one of just three states, Florida and Alabama are the other two, which allowed judges to override juries and sentence defendants to the death penalty. Delaware also didn't require juries to be unanimous when recommending a death sentence.

The state Supreme Court ruled these aspects of Delaware's law violate citizens' sixth amendment rights