Death Looms Near for Many on Death Row

09/24/10

Capital punishment is back in the news this week in cases arising on both coasts. In California, the Attorney General is trying to get the moratorium on executions in place since 2006 lifted in advance of next week's scheduled execution of Albert Brown. In Virginia, the state is preparing to execute Teresa Lewis, the first woman executed in Virginia in nearly 100 years. Both inmates have exhausted their appeals but California still must overcome the limitations issued by a federal judge four years ago before it can carry out the sentence. In Virginia, the only thing that can stop the execution now is clemency from the governor.


California, with approximately 700 death row inmates, has had a de facto moratorium on executions since a federal court ruling in 2006 that the current method of execution violated the 8^th amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Execution by lethal injection was taking place in the cramped chamber that had previously been used as a gas chamber, and the court found that due to inadequate training of the personnel involved in administering the three drug combination there was no way to be certain that the anesthetic drug was active before administering the lethal dose, thus opening the possibility that the inmate would experience excruciating pain but be incapable of communicating it. San Quentin prison, home of California's death row, has rebuilt its execution chamber to comply with the judge's order and initiated additional training procedures for the executioners. Judge Jeremy Fogel, who issued the original order blocking California executions, is expected to rule by Friday on whether or not to lift the ban. If the state prevails, then Albert Brown will be executed one minute past midnight on Wednesday, September 29.

Since its inception as the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1607, Virginia has executed 1,384 people, more than any other state in the union. The last time a female was executed in Virginia, and the only woman to be executed since the state took over the responsibility of meting out the death penalty from the counties, was in 1912 when Virginia Christian was put to death for murder. Teresa Lewis was convicted in her role in a double murder. Lewis was the ''mastermind'' behind a plot to kill her husband and step son in order to collect their life insurance, but the actual murders were carried out by two male conspirators. Lawyers and other advocates for Lewis argue that in this case the punishment is disproportionate to the crime because the two men who actually committed the murders received life sentences while Lewis was given the harsher death sentence. Her final appeal was denied on Monday and at the time of this writing her execution is a few hours away. Barring a last minute decision from Governor Robert McDonnell, who has already announced that he has made up his mind to all the execution to proceed, it will be a fait acomplis by the time you read this.