Saturday, May 22, 2010
Attorneys Seek Death Row Execution Delays
KENTUCKY....
Attorneys for Kentucky death row inmates Ralph Stevens Baze and Robert Carl Foley have filed separate letters with Governor Steve Beshear, saying multiple circumstances should prompt a delay in setting execution dates for their clients. Heather McGregor, the public defender in Foley's case says Foley, who's awaiting execution for six murders in eastern Kentucky, has claims of innocence that haven't been litigated, and executing him would deprive him of the right to pursue those claims. Public defenders Dennis Burke and David Barron, who represent Baze, say Kentucky's current economic struggles and several pending legal issues should halt any execution. The attorneys also cited a national shortage of sodium thiopental, one of the three drugs Kentucky uses in a lethal injection. They suggest it would be wise to save thiopental for actual medical procedures, rather than use it for executions. Baze, 54, was convicted in 1992 of killing Powell County Sheriff Steve Bennett and Deputy Arthur Briscoe in eastern Kentucky as they tried to serve arrest warrants from Ohio on him. Beshear's office says the requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Attorney General Jack Conway's request for an execution date for Baze and Foley is also under consideration by Beshear.
Attorneys for Kentucky death row inmates Ralph Stevens Baze and Robert Carl Foley have filed separate letters with Governor Steve Beshear, saying multiple circumstances should prompt a delay in setting execution dates for their clients. Heather McGregor, the public defender in Foley's case says Foley, who's awaiting execution for six murders in eastern Kentucky, has claims of innocence that haven't been litigated, and executing him would deprive him of the right to pursue those claims. Public defenders Dennis Burke and David Barron, who represent Baze, say Kentucky's current economic struggles and several pending legal issues should halt any execution. The attorneys also cited a national shortage of sodium thiopental, one of the three drugs Kentucky uses in a lethal injection. They suggest it would be wise to save thiopental for actual medical procedures, rather than use it for executions. Baze, 54, was convicted in 1992 of killing Powell County Sheriff Steve Bennett and Deputy Arthur Briscoe in eastern Kentucky as they tried to serve arrest warrants from Ohio on him. Beshear's office says the requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Attorney General Jack Conway's request for an execution date for Baze and Foley is also under consideration by Beshear.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 12:52 AM 
