Post by Anja on Jun 15, 2006 16:01:46 GMT -5
Alleged arson killer could get death penalty
A Douglas County Circuit Court judge decided Wednesday that if jurors find
Paul David Fahey Jr. guilty of aggravated murder, they can also recommend
he be sentenced to death.
Fahey, 37, is accused of intentionally killing his 35-year-old wife,
Brenda Iverson-Fahey, by setting fire to her Roseburg home in 2004.
Judge Randy Garrison denied a series of motions filed by Faheys defense
attorney challenging the constitutional and statutory basis of Oregons
death penalty law.
Defense Attorney Michael Barker, for example, argued that the statewide
law does not include statewide standards for when to include the penalty.
District attorneys in each county are instead at liberty to decide when
they believe the penalty could be applicable, he said, which leaves open
the possibility for one suspect to be treated differently than another.
That is a violation of the suspects equal protection rights, he said.
Douglas County, he argued, has a higher rate of allowing the death penalty
than other Oregon counties.
There is no seeking to find the worst of the worst, he said.
But Garrison disagreed, saying the defense failed to show a specific
example of how suspects in similar situations have been treated
differently in Douglas County.
I think that the defense motion fails in that regard, he said.
He also said the definition of aggravated murder the only crime
punishable by death in Oregon is a standard in its own right because it
lays out specific requirements for how the crime was committed.
Along with aggravated murder, Fahey faces charges of murder and 1st-degree
arson. The other charges reflect the prosecutions different theories about
Faheys alleged actions the day Iverson-Fahey died.
Faheys trial is scheduled for Feb. 6.
(source: The News-Review)
A Douglas County Circuit Court judge decided Wednesday that if jurors find
Paul David Fahey Jr. guilty of aggravated murder, they can also recommend
he be sentenced to death.
Fahey, 37, is accused of intentionally killing his 35-year-old wife,
Brenda Iverson-Fahey, by setting fire to her Roseburg home in 2004.
Judge Randy Garrison denied a series of motions filed by Faheys defense
attorney challenging the constitutional and statutory basis of Oregons
death penalty law.
Defense Attorney Michael Barker, for example, argued that the statewide
law does not include statewide standards for when to include the penalty.
District attorneys in each county are instead at liberty to decide when
they believe the penalty could be applicable, he said, which leaves open
the possibility for one suspect to be treated differently than another.
That is a violation of the suspects equal protection rights, he said.
Douglas County, he argued, has a higher rate of allowing the death penalty
than other Oregon counties.
There is no seeking to find the worst of the worst, he said.
But Garrison disagreed, saying the defense failed to show a specific
example of how suspects in similar situations have been treated
differently in Douglas County.
I think that the defense motion fails in that regard, he said.
He also said the definition of aggravated murder the only crime
punishable by death in Oregon is a standard in its own right because it
lays out specific requirements for how the crime was committed.
Along with aggravated murder, Fahey faces charges of murder and 1st-degree
arson. The other charges reflect the prosecutions different theories about
Faheys alleged actions the day Iverson-Fahey died.
Faheys trial is scheduled for Feb. 6.
(source: The News-Review)