Arizona man wants execution delay until new governor
Attorneys for a death-row inmate set to be put to death in Arizona next week want the execution delayed until the state has a new governor, arguing in a Tuesday filing that Gov. Jan Brewer appointed "political cronies" to a clemency board in an unconstitutional, closed-door process.
In their filing in the Arizona Supreme Court, defense attorneys for death-row inmate Samuel Villegas Lopez argue that he can't receive a fair hearing with the state's clemency board, often an inmate's last chance for mercy before an execution.
Brewer overhauled the board in April, a move that her spokesman Matt Benson said at the time was designed to "bring fresh insight and fresh blood" to the board.
"The Arizona Supreme Court has already found these allegations to be without merit. The latest filing is more of the same," Benson said in statement Tuesday evening. "Governor Brewer appropriately nominated qualified individuals to the Board of Executive Clemency, including a Democrat, and they were properly confirmed by the Arizona Senate. The governor and the Board of Executive Clemency have the right to defend themselves when named in a lawsuit in which spurious and sanctionable allegations are asserted."
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2012/06/19/20120619arizona-man-wants-execution-delay-until-new-governor.html#ixzz1z6W6I7e7
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