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Death row inmate's execution scheduled after 7-month hiatus
By Andrew Kreighbaum
The first Texas executions since the beginning of a seven-month national moratorium have been scheduled for this summer.
The executions of Charles Dean Hood and Larry Donnell Davis are slated for June and July, respectively. The Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal by two Kentucky death row inmates in September concerning the constitutionality of lethal injections. Lauri Saathoff, a spokeswoman for the Texas Attorney General, said 35 state death row inmates received stays of execution while state courts waited for a decision. But Davis's execution date was set before the moratorium. Both cases had exhausted the appeals process. In those situations, the district attorney contacts the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Institutional Division, which handles prisons and executions, to find out which dates are available. A warrant for execution must be delivered to the Institutional Division at least 90 days in advance. A date was scheduled for Davis's execution before the Supreme Court stayed executions in the Kentucky case, but a judge held onto the order pending a ruling from the high court. District attorneys throughout Texas agreed to hold other death penalty cases. The Potter County Sheriff's office would serve the warrant for Davis's execution to the Institutional Division by Wednesday, said 47th District Attorney Randall Sims. Potter County, which encompasses Amarillo, sits in the Panhandle. Four men, including Davis, sit on death row in Potter County, but two of them were in the early stages of appeals and would not have been affected by the stay issued by the Supreme Court. The Texan strives to present all information fairly, accurately and completely.
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Bryan McCann
posted 4/24/08 @ 10:07 PM CST
Though not particularly surprising, the Supreme Court's recent decision to uphold Kentucky's method of lethal injection and effectively resume executions in the United States is a sad day for justice and human rights. (Continued…)
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