Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 26, 2006 16:16:16 GMT -5
Morales execution drama resumes
A quarter-century after killing a teenager in an Acampo vineyard,
condemned Stockton man Michael Angelo Morales arises each morning in a
cell on California's death row, while the mother of his victim wonders
when she will get justice.
Morales came within steps of San Quentin State Prison's death chamber and
execution Feb. 21 for slaying Terri Lynn Winchell one winter night in
1981.
Within hours of Morales' scheduled death, two anesthesiologists backed
out, derailing a federal judge's attempt to make sure Morales did not
suffer excruciating pain in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Putting the execution on hold, Winchell's mother, Barbara Christian said
at the time, felt like a punch in the stomach.
Until Morales' case is resolved, none of California's 653 death-row
inmates will have their death sentences carried out.
Morales' attorneys continue to fight the execution and will argue the
merits of lethal injection for 4 days beginning Tuesday in the San Jose
courtroom of U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel.
During the hearing, several witnesses are expected to testify, including
one of the anesthesiologists, physicians who have observed California's
executions and 3 former wardens at San Quentin, where all the state's
death sentences are carried out.
In a mountain of documents recently filed in court, Morales' attorneys
have picked apart the state's procedure for performing executions and the
team of prison staff charged with the "stressful" and "awesome" job.
The execution team comprises people "with criminal records of misconduct"
who "lack skill, competence, professionalism" and the "mental health"
necessary to perform executions, Morales' attorneys argued those filings.
Dane Gillette, the state's lead death penalty lawyer, in court documents
denied that lethal injection violates the Constitution.
David Senior, Morales' lead attorney, would not say in a phone interview
from his Los Angeles office last week what result he expects from the
hearing. But the purpose is clear, he said.
"The court is going to examine the state's procedures for performing
executions and decide if it's in compliance with the Eighth Amendment,"
Senior said of the constitutional amendment banning cruel and unusual
punishment.
Morales at sentencing more than 2 decades ago acknowledged his crime,
which he carried out for his cousin, Ricky Ortega.
Ortega was in a homosexual relationship with the same man Winchell, 17,
dated. Ortega, who later received a life prison sentence, lured the Tokay
High School senior from home. Morales then strangled her and beat her head
with a hammer before he stabbed and raped her.
The high-profile trial that lasted about two months was moved to Ventura
County. A jury deliberated for 2 days before finding Morales guilty of
murder and took about 11/2 days to sentence him to death.
If eventually put to death, he would be the first San Joaquin County man
executed since California resumed executions in 1992.
Morales' attorneys contend the execution procedure should be abandoned
because the procedures are deeply flawed and the staffers incompetent.
According to court papers:
- At least 2 execution team members have drunken-driving convictions, and
one of those who was scheduled to lead Morales' Feb. 21 execution was
taking medication for clinical depression.
- One member of the execution team was put back to work after a 5-month
termination for bringing illegal narcotics into San Quentin.
- An execution team member had never been trained to mix lethal drugs
before the night of a death sentence, and no one took notes during
training leading up to it.
- One doctor recording Stanley "Tookie" Williams' Dec. 13 execution said a
"big guy" who had no role in the execution blocked his view and light and
then nudged the doctor.
- A registered nurse failed after three tries to find a good vein in
Williams' left arm, leaving just one catheter in the other arm to deliver
the lethal dose without a backup. Warden Steve Ornoski ordered the
execution to proceed anyway.
"The RN couldn't believe (the catheter) wasn't running again," court
papers said. "She was visibly upset to other execution team members."
Fogel, the federal judge presiding over Morales' case, probably will not
rule during the hearings, but rather issue a written decision afterward.
That decision then likely will be appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.
San Joaquin County prosecutors may not be able to ask for a new execution
date until sometime in 2007, said Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer.
"The burden is on Mr. Morales to establish that California's lethal
injection protocol constitutes cruel and unusual punishment," Barankin
said. "The burden's not on the state."
Christian, Winchell's mother, called the never-ending delays ridiculous. A
judge and jury convicted Morales more than 2 decades ago, yet he still
lives, she said.
Christian, who now lives in Sacramento County, said she plans to be in
Fogel's courtroom Friday, the hearing's final day. With her will be Los
Angeles attorney Gloria Allred, well known for representing victims in
high-profile cases.
"I am only one mother of over 600 who are victims of death row crimes in
California," Christian said. "I know their feelings are the same as mine."
(source: Stockton Record)
A quarter-century after killing a teenager in an Acampo vineyard,
condemned Stockton man Michael Angelo Morales arises each morning in a
cell on California's death row, while the mother of his victim wonders
when she will get justice.
Morales came within steps of San Quentin State Prison's death chamber and
execution Feb. 21 for slaying Terri Lynn Winchell one winter night in
1981.
Within hours of Morales' scheduled death, two anesthesiologists backed
out, derailing a federal judge's attempt to make sure Morales did not
suffer excruciating pain in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Putting the execution on hold, Winchell's mother, Barbara Christian said
at the time, felt like a punch in the stomach.
Until Morales' case is resolved, none of California's 653 death-row
inmates will have their death sentences carried out.
Morales' attorneys continue to fight the execution and will argue the
merits of lethal injection for 4 days beginning Tuesday in the San Jose
courtroom of U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel.
During the hearing, several witnesses are expected to testify, including
one of the anesthesiologists, physicians who have observed California's
executions and 3 former wardens at San Quentin, where all the state's
death sentences are carried out.
In a mountain of documents recently filed in court, Morales' attorneys
have picked apart the state's procedure for performing executions and the
team of prison staff charged with the "stressful" and "awesome" job.
The execution team comprises people "with criminal records of misconduct"
who "lack skill, competence, professionalism" and the "mental health"
necessary to perform executions, Morales' attorneys argued those filings.
Dane Gillette, the state's lead death penalty lawyer, in court documents
denied that lethal injection violates the Constitution.
David Senior, Morales' lead attorney, would not say in a phone interview
from his Los Angeles office last week what result he expects from the
hearing. But the purpose is clear, he said.
"The court is going to examine the state's procedures for performing
executions and decide if it's in compliance with the Eighth Amendment,"
Senior said of the constitutional amendment banning cruel and unusual
punishment.
Morales at sentencing more than 2 decades ago acknowledged his crime,
which he carried out for his cousin, Ricky Ortega.
Ortega was in a homosexual relationship with the same man Winchell, 17,
dated. Ortega, who later received a life prison sentence, lured the Tokay
High School senior from home. Morales then strangled her and beat her head
with a hammer before he stabbed and raped her.
The high-profile trial that lasted about two months was moved to Ventura
County. A jury deliberated for 2 days before finding Morales guilty of
murder and took about 11/2 days to sentence him to death.
If eventually put to death, he would be the first San Joaquin County man
executed since California resumed executions in 1992.
Morales' attorneys contend the execution procedure should be abandoned
because the procedures are deeply flawed and the staffers incompetent.
According to court papers:
- At least 2 execution team members have drunken-driving convictions, and
one of those who was scheduled to lead Morales' Feb. 21 execution was
taking medication for clinical depression.
- One member of the execution team was put back to work after a 5-month
termination for bringing illegal narcotics into San Quentin.
- An execution team member had never been trained to mix lethal drugs
before the night of a death sentence, and no one took notes during
training leading up to it.
- One doctor recording Stanley "Tookie" Williams' Dec. 13 execution said a
"big guy" who had no role in the execution blocked his view and light and
then nudged the doctor.
- A registered nurse failed after three tries to find a good vein in
Williams' left arm, leaving just one catheter in the other arm to deliver
the lethal dose without a backup. Warden Steve Ornoski ordered the
execution to proceed anyway.
"The RN couldn't believe (the catheter) wasn't running again," court
papers said. "She was visibly upset to other execution team members."
Fogel, the federal judge presiding over Morales' case, probably will not
rule during the hearings, but rather issue a written decision afterward.
That decision then likely will be appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.
San Joaquin County prosecutors may not be able to ask for a new execution
date until sometime in 2007, said Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer.
"The burden is on Mr. Morales to establish that California's lethal
injection protocol constitutes cruel and unusual punishment," Barankin
said. "The burden's not on the state."
Christian, Winchell's mother, called the never-ending delays ridiculous. A
judge and jury convicted Morales more than 2 decades ago, yet he still
lives, she said.
Christian, who now lives in Sacramento County, said she plans to be in
Fogel's courtroom Friday, the hearing's final day. With her will be Los
Angeles attorney Gloria Allred, well known for representing victims in
high-profile cases.
"I am only one mother of over 600 who are victims of death row crimes in
California," Christian said. "I know their feelings are the same as mine."
(source: Stockton Record)