Post by Anja on Jun 15, 2006 16:02:17 GMT -5
Davis Asks To Postpone Death Date----Killer Of Rogers Woman Wants Time For
Lawsuit To Be Heard
In Rogers, the attorney for death-row inmate Don Davis, who was convicted
in 1992 in the slaying of a Rogers woman, has asked a court to delay his
execution until a ruling can be made in his claim the drugs used for
lethal injection cause excruciating pain.
Davis, whose execution is scheduled for July 5, is an intervenor in a
lawsuit filed by another death-row inmate, Terrick Nooner, who argues the
3-drug thingytail the state uses to kill inmates can cause suffering and
pain in violation of the Constitutional protection from cruel and unusual
punishment.
Claims similar to Nooner's and Davis' have been filed in several states,
and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday seemed to bolster their efforts.
The court ruled a Florida death-row inmate was entitled to file an appeal
asking the state to use different drugs in his execution.
Davis, whose appeals have been exhausted, was cleared on May 26 by U.S.
District Judge Susan Webber Wright to join the Nooner case as a plaintiff.
The plaintiffs are not seeking to have their sentences overturned, only
the execution be carried out using different drugs.
Alvin Schay, Davis' Little Rock lawyer, did not immediately return a call
seeking comment.
Davis, 43, was convicted in Benton County in the 1990 execution-style
shooting of Jane Daniel in her home. Davis was characterized as a drifter
from Texas.
Nooner was convicted of killing a college student in Little Rock in 1993.
A date has not been set for his execution.
Larry Daniel, Jane Daniel's stepson, said he expected Davis to ask for the
postponement when he was granted intervenor status in Nooner's case.
"Hopefully, they won't grant (a postponement)," Daniel said. "It's time to
put it to an end."
Daniel also said he doesn't understand why Davis wants to put off carrying
out his sentence.
"The guy has never said that he was innocent, so that makes it even more
frustrating."
Dr. Charles Chastain, a professor in the department of criminal justice at
the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, said chances are good in light
of the Supreme Court ruling that Davis will get his execution date moved.
As in the Florida case, Nooner and Davis claim 2 of the execution drugs --
pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride -- can cause excruciating pain
and agony.
Davis' motion for injunction claims potassium chloride, which is used to
stop the heart, causes pain as it travels through the circulatory system.
The motion claims pancuronium bromide, a neuromuscular blocking agent,
stops all movement, including breathing, but has no effect on
consciousness or the ability to feel pain.
"If a prisoner is conscious when this drug is administered, he will feel
the visceral pain and distress of slow suffocation, much as if he were
drowning or being crushed to death," the motion states.
(source : Springdale Morning News)
Lawsuit To Be Heard
In Rogers, the attorney for death-row inmate Don Davis, who was convicted
in 1992 in the slaying of a Rogers woman, has asked a court to delay his
execution until a ruling can be made in his claim the drugs used for
lethal injection cause excruciating pain.
Davis, whose execution is scheduled for July 5, is an intervenor in a
lawsuit filed by another death-row inmate, Terrick Nooner, who argues the
3-drug thingytail the state uses to kill inmates can cause suffering and
pain in violation of the Constitutional protection from cruel and unusual
punishment.
Claims similar to Nooner's and Davis' have been filed in several states,
and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday seemed to bolster their efforts.
The court ruled a Florida death-row inmate was entitled to file an appeal
asking the state to use different drugs in his execution.
Davis, whose appeals have been exhausted, was cleared on May 26 by U.S.
District Judge Susan Webber Wright to join the Nooner case as a plaintiff.
The plaintiffs are not seeking to have their sentences overturned, only
the execution be carried out using different drugs.
Alvin Schay, Davis' Little Rock lawyer, did not immediately return a call
seeking comment.
Davis, 43, was convicted in Benton County in the 1990 execution-style
shooting of Jane Daniel in her home. Davis was characterized as a drifter
from Texas.
Nooner was convicted of killing a college student in Little Rock in 1993.
A date has not been set for his execution.
Larry Daniel, Jane Daniel's stepson, said he expected Davis to ask for the
postponement when he was granted intervenor status in Nooner's case.
"Hopefully, they won't grant (a postponement)," Daniel said. "It's time to
put it to an end."
Daniel also said he doesn't understand why Davis wants to put off carrying
out his sentence.
"The guy has never said that he was innocent, so that makes it even more
frustrating."
Dr. Charles Chastain, a professor in the department of criminal justice at
the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, said chances are good in light
of the Supreme Court ruling that Davis will get his execution date moved.
As in the Florida case, Nooner and Davis claim 2 of the execution drugs --
pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride -- can cause excruciating pain
and agony.
Davis' motion for injunction claims potassium chloride, which is used to
stop the heart, causes pain as it travels through the circulatory system.
The motion claims pancuronium bromide, a neuromuscular blocking agent,
stops all movement, including breathing, but has no effect on
consciousness or the ability to feel pain.
"If a prisoner is conscious when this drug is administered, he will feel
the visceral pain and distress of slow suffocation, much as if he were
drowning or being crushed to death," the motion states.
(source : Springdale Morning News)