July 8
VIRGINIA----impending execution
Convicted scissor killer faces execution
Barring intervention from the Supreme Court or Gov. Mark R. Warner, a man
convicted of fatally stabbing the night manager of a pool hall with a pair
of scissors will be executed Monday.
Robin Lovitt's execution would be the 1st in Virginia this year.
Lovitt, 41, was convicted in 1999 of murdering 44-year-old Clayton Dicks
during a 1998 pool hall robbery in Arlington. Police discovered one of the
cash drawers from the pool hall's register was missing--along with a pair
of scissors.
The cash box was found at the home of Lovitt's cousin, Warren Grant. A
pair of bloody scissors was found in the woods, halfway between the pool
hall and Grant's home.
Prosecutors theorized that Lovitt--who had once worked at the pool
hall--had used the scissors to pry open the drawer but was caught in the
act by Dicks. Jurors agreed and sentenced Lovitt to death.
But the case began attracting scrutiny in 2001, when a court clerk
destroyed most of the evidence in his case--including the bloody
scissors--making additional DNA testing impossible. Initial DNA tests of
the scissors proved inconclusive.
New concerns were raised in May after an independent audit found the state
crime lab erred in critical testing in the case of pardoned death row
inmate Earl Washington Jr.
The results of the audit prompted the governor to call for a scientific
review of more than 160 cases handled by the lab, with Lovitt's case
taking top priority.
The review team last month concluded the lab properly handled the DNA
evidence in Lovitt's case.
That doesn't make up for the fact that Lovitt was denied the opportunity
to have the DNA in his case retested, said one of his lawyers, Steven
Engel.
Engel is part of a team of about a dozen lawyers from the Washington,
D.C., law firm Kirkland & Ellis that took the case on pro bono. So far it
has racked up more than $2 million in legal expenses and attracted the
attention of former independent counsel Kenneth Starr, who argued the case
before the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in February.
"It boggles that mind that Virginia is even proceeding with this and that
the governor hasn't intervened before now to stop it," said Jack
Payden-Travers, executive director of Virginians for Alternatives to the
Death Penalty. "We are gonna be the laughing stock of the justice system
if Virginia proceeds with this execution."
Lovitt, who declined an interview request, has steadfastly maintained his
innocence, his lawyers said.
The controversy over the destroyed evidence has little bearing on Lovitt's
conviction, the attorney general's office contends.
"We didn't see DNA as a major factor in this case," spokeswoman Emily
Lucier said.
There was "very compelling, strong evidence" in the form of eyewitness
testimony and a confession to a fellow inmate that led to Lovitt's
conviction, Lucier said.
"He was found guilty by 12 jurors, 2 trial judges, seven state justices,
one federal district judge and 3 federal appellate judges," Lucier said.
"This has been determined."
Lovitt's criminal record, which was presented to the jury, dates to 1975
when he was 11 and accused of breaking and entering and larceny. As a
juvenile he was also accused of selling drugs and trying to rob someone.
The Supreme Court of Virginia in 2000 found no error by the trial court
and affirmed Lovitt's conviction and death sentence. The following year,
the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider Lovitt's appeal.
Starr argued before the 4th Circuit that the destruction of the DNA
evidence violated Lovitt's right to due process. The appeals court in
April rejected that argument.
On June 28, Lovitt's attorneys filed an application for a stay of
execution with the U.S. Supreme Court and asked the high court to
reconsider the 4th Circuit's ruling.
The Virginia Catholic Conference also has hand delivered a letter from the
bishops of the Diocese of Richmond and the Diocese of Arlington asking
Warner to commute Lovitt's sentence to life in prison.
Virginia's death penalty is "the extreme and unnecessary measure of taking
... life to show that taking life is wrong," Bishops Francis DiLorenzo and
Paul Loverde said in the letter.
Warner spokesman Kevin Hall said the letter is part of the file the
governor will review.
Lovitt's execution is scheduled for 9 p.m. at the Greensville Correctional
Center in Jarratt. It would be the 95th since the state resumed executions
in 1982 following a 20-year hiatus.
Only Texas, with 345 executions, has put more people to death since 1982.
(source: Daily Press)
