Six months after legislative efforts to stop Death Row inmates' artwork from being sold on the Internet came up short, the often pornographic sketches done behind bars in Alabama are more popular than ever, experts said.

The number of items from Alabama being sold on the three leading "murderabilia" Web sites has increased significantly since a state bill that would have restricted the practice died in the Legislature and efforts began to pass a federal law, said Andy Kahan, a victims advocate who has helped several states pass such laws.

Kahan said there's no clear answer to why sales have spiked - the number of items for sale on one leading site has tripled, he estimated - but fear that the sales will be outlawed may be one factor.

"I guess they're trying to get their hands on everything possible," said Kahan, who works for the city of Houston.

Daniel Siebert, a Death Row inmate who has confessed to as many as 13 murders and was convicted of killing five people in Alabama, is the most prolific contributor from Alabama.

Last week there were 18 items from Siebert - mostly pornographic sketches - for sale on just one of the most popular Web sites.

The items typically start their journey to Web sales and auctions by being mailed by inmates to friends or associates on the outside. Outgoing mail in state prisons typically is not inspected. The inmates' friends or associates then post the items, typically including artwork, essays and letters, for sale on the Web sites.

The items attributed to Siebert, which were priced at a total of more than $2,000, likely will increase in popularity and price when he dies, Kahan said. Siebert has pancreatic cancer.

Items typically increase in popularity and value when an inmate is executed, but Siebert's execution has been delayed by the U.S. Supreme Court until after it hears a Kentucky case challenging the constitutionality of lethal injection. Most states have halted executions pending the outcome of the case, meaning Siebert may die from cancer before he gets another execution date.

A bill that would have made it harder for anyone to profit from the sale of inmate memorabilia was poised to pass the Alabama Legislature at the end of the last session, but was killed on the last day by Sen. Phil Poole, D-Moundville, who was angry that an unrelated bill didn't include money for roadwork in his district.

Plans to try again:

Rep. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, sponsored the "notoriety" bill and said Friday he has already prefiled the bill for the coming session. "It's my No. 1 priority."

A similar federal bill is expected to be introduced in Congress in the spring. That bill would bar prisoners from using the mail to deliver anything for "interstate or foreign commerce."

The federal bill was filed in the Senate by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and will be sponsored in the House by Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Washington. Reichert was King County sheriff at the time of the Green River killings, the largest serial murder case in U.S. history.

Most states, including Alabama, have bills modeled after New York's "Son of Sam" law, which bars inmates from profiting from books and movies about their crimes. But few states have "notoriety" laws barring them from profiting from their notoriety, or limiting the ability of others to profit from the sale of their artwork or essays.

Mary Kate Gach has watched helplessly for years as her daughter's killer has had macabre artwork and essays posted online from behind bars at Holman Correctional Facility's Death Row. She was an inspiration for the federal bill and has been an advocate for the state version.

Gach said last week that she'll again be a vocal supporter of the state bill.

"We're just going to do it again," she said.

E-mail: sdiel@bhamnews.com