July 25 MONTANA: State says ACLU has no standing in Dawson case Civil liberties groups have no legal standing to try to stop the execution of death row inmate David Dawson, and have provided no evidence to support their claims that lethal injection could constitute cruel and unusual punishment, the state contends in documents filed Monday with the Montana Supreme Court. The arguments, written by Assistant Attorney General Pamela Collins, are included in the state's response to a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and others trying to stop Dawson's scheduled Aug. 11 execution. Helena attorney Ron Waterman, representing the groups who asked the Supreme Court to intervene, said Monday that the state's response doesn't address the qualifications or background of the people who prepare and administer the fatal drugs. "Not only do you have to give drugs in the right proportion and use the right types of drugs, but they have to be administered correctly," Waterman said. "That's the source of the risk that exposes individuals to cruel and unusual punishment." State law says the identity of the executioner must remain anonymous. The person, chosen by the warden, must be trained to administer a lethal injection, but doesn't have to be a physician or a nurse. Dawson, convicted of murdering three members of a family in a Billings motel in 1986, successfully won the right to dismiss his attorneys, end his appeals and move forward with the execution. The civil liberties groups, however, filed a lawsuit earlier this month asking the state Supreme Court to suspend the execution, and any others in Montana, until a court can decide whether lethal injection is humane. In the state's 25-page response, Collins said the Supreme Court should reject the groups' request outright, because "Dawson has specifically informed this court that he does not desire to participate in this lawsuit, and that he desires that his execution proceed as scheduled," Collins wrote. In his own response to the lawsuit last week, Dawson said those trying to suspend the execution "totally disregard" his "personal feelings and wishes." Waterman argued the groups do have standing in the suit because they are trying to make sure the state is acting in accordance with the constitution. Even if the justices were to decide the groups have standing to sue, Collins said their request still should be rejected for failing to provide evidence to back up claims that Dawson's rights would be violated if executed by lethal injection. The state has "affirmatively established that the likelihood of a condemned inmate in Montana suffering excruciating pain from the manner in which Montana intends to carry out the sentence is so remote as to be nonexistent," Collins wrote. The plaintiffs, on the other hand, have provided only a "speculative claim" that lethal injection would cause undue pain, Collins wrote. The state's response included a declaration from Dr. Mark Dershwitz, an anesthesiologist associated with the University of Massachusetts, who argues that Montana's current lethal injection method does not involve "torture or lingering death." The U.S. Supreme Court recently made it easier for death row inmates to contest lethal injections used for executions, allowing the legal claims that chemicals used in such executions are too painful. In his declaration, Dershwitz said he had examined Montana's protocols and found that lethal injection administered by the state would "result in the rapid and painless death of the condemned inmate." Waterman said the ACLU, which only recently received access to the state's lethal injection protocol, has other experts that see problems with the protocol. (source: Helena Independent Record) MISSOURI: State appeals court ruling on execution standard Missouri officials filed an appeal Monday of a federal court order that set an execution standard they have been unable to meet. Attorney General Jay Nixon took the case to the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in St. Louis, saying U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan Jr. erred in imposing a requirement that an anesthesiologist prepare the lethal drug cocktail. The provision could effectively ban executions. Ruling last month in the case of death row inmate Michael A. Taylor, Gaitan halted Missouri executions over concern that the method could subject the condemned to unconstitutionally cruel pain. Chief among Gaitan's concerns was that for years a surgeon has had sole discretion to mix lethal injections without written guidelines or trainingin anesthesia. That surgeon, called John Doe I in court records, said in a deposition last month that he was dyslexic and sometimes made mistakes with facts and figures. Putting so much discretion in the hands of a dyslexic doctor created an unacceptable risk, Gaitan wrote. The judge also said he had grave concerns about the doctor's qualifications. Corrections officials met Gaitan's July 15 deadline to submit a plan for overhauling procedures. But they said they could not meet a key requirement to put an anesthesiologist in charge of preparing the lethal drug cocktail. None of 298 anesthesiologists responded to letters from the state asking if they would consider the job, according to officials who then asked for permission to continue using any physician, nurse or emergency medical technician. Taylor's lawyers filed papers Monday in Gaitan's court, urging him to reject the state's proposal. They said it would leave the door open for John Doe I to continue mixing of the lethal drugs, which they called "completely unacceptable." Taylor was sentenced to die for the murder of a 15-year-old girl in Kansas City in 1989. Death penalty critics say that if the condemned is not properly numbed by the 1st drug administered, paralysis caused by the 2nd could make it impossible to communicate pain that would accompany the 3rd. (source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch) CALIFORNIA: Killer Who Sparked 3-Strikes Law Survives Overdose----Richard Davis, who murdered Polly Klaas, 12, in 1993, is on San Quentin's death row. Death row inmate Richard Allen Davis, whose 1993 kidnap and murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas led to California's 3-strikes law, overdosed on opiates in his San Quentin Prison cell but was revived, officials said Monday. San Quentin Prison spokesman Vernell Crittendon said Davis was found unconscious in his cell at 5:13 p.m. Sunday. The infirmary suspected opiates and administered medication to revive him before sending him to a hospital, where opiates were found in his system, Crittendon said. Davis was returned to his cell hours later. The overdose is not the first at the prison's death row. On July 10, 2005, inmate Nicholas Rodriguez died from a heroin overdose. Another death row inmate, Larry Davis Jr., died on Sept. 2, 2005, of what the coroner determined was "acute drug toxicity." But California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Terry Thornton said it was unclear in that case whether the drugs were prescription or illicit. "In all prisons, drugs make their way inside," she said. "That's a reality." Crittendon said Davis was being held in the high-security cellblock known as the Adjustment Center and is allowed contact with about 60 other death row inmates. He also has "contact with family, loved ones. There's any number of ways that he could have possibly smuggled small quantities of narcotics into the prison." No additional drugs were found in Davis' cell, but Crittendon said prison staff have begun "interviews and searches" to investigate the possible source. State investigations have shown that "staff bringing in drugs accounts for less than 1%," Thornton said. "Most of it comes from visitors." 50 California death row prisoners have died since 1978 of causes other than execution. Rodriguez's was the 1st death by overdose. 33 deaths were from natural causes. 12 who died were confirmed suicides and several were killed. Crittendon said there was no evidence that Davis' overdose was a suicide attempt. Davis, 52, was already a repeat offender when he broke into the Klaas' Petaluma home, kidnapped Polly, then sexually molested and killed her. Outrage over the crime led to California's 3-strikes law, which requires a sentence of 25 years to life for a 3rd felony if the first 2 are serious or violent. His double status as molester and instigator of the nation's strictest sentencing law has made Davis unpopular in prison. "He is not well-liked," Thornton said. Davis routinely corresponds with the Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty, which hosts websites on behalf of death row inmates. In addition to artwork, photos of himself in the exercise yard and a lengthy missive on his childhood titled "a tale of woe," Davis also sought a female pen pal "who can show me how to be in love with life, before execution." (source: Los Angeles Times) DELAWARE: Court will take 2 months to examine constitutionality of lethal injection A convicted ax murderer's reprieve from the death chamber will last at least another 2 months. Following a brief telephone conference with attorneys, Today, Chief District Judge Sue L. Robinson ordered state officials to respond to a lawsuit filed by attorneys for inmate Robert W. Jackson III within the next 60 days. During that time, and likely until the case is resolved, Jackson's execution will remain on hold, according to attorneys. Jackson was originally scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on May 19 for the 1992 ax murder of 47-year-old Elizabeth Girardi during a burglary of her Hockessin home. Since Jackson's federal case raises questions about how Delaware carries out the death penalty, no other executions will likely go forward until the case is resolved. Attorneys for Jackson contend that how Delaware carries out lethal injection amounts to unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment. (source: The News Journal)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----MONT., MO., CALIF., DEL.
Rick Halperin Tue, 25 Jul 2006 10:22:01 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
