Tagged: death penalty

The same jury that convicted a Monroe Reformatory inmate of aggravated murder for strangling a prison guard starts work Monday in Everett on the penalty stage of the trial to determine whether Byron Scherf will be executed.

Snohomish County jurors were told during the trial that the convicted rapist was already serving a sentence of life without parole in 2011 when he strangled Jayme Biendl in the prison chapel.

SALEM, Ore. – An Oregon judge says death row inmate Gary Haugen has the right to reject a reprieve from Governor John Kitzhaber. Circuit Court Judge Timothy Alexander's ruling Friday paves the way for a possible new execution date for the two-time murderer.

Gary Haugen dropped his appeals and said in court he wants to die. But last fall, just days before the scheduled execution, Governor John Kitzhaber issued a moratorium on executions.

SALEM, Ore. – Late last year Governor John Kitzhaber issued a moratorium that put on hold the execution of twice convicted murderer Gary Haugen. Now the death row inmate is asking a judge to overrule that reprieve. Haugen appeared in a Marion County courtroom Tuesday.

Kitzhaber said the purpose of his moratorium is to give Oregon time to debate the future of capital punishment. Attorneys for the state argued in court the reprieve is an unconditional benefit granted by the governor, that can’t be refused by an inmate.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington state Supreme Court has reversed the conviction and death sentence of Darold Stenson and called for a new trial in his double murder case.

On an 8-1 ruling Thursday, the high court ruled that Stenson's rights were violated because the state "wrongfully suppressed" from the defense photographs that raised questions about mishandling of evidence as well as an FBI file.

Stenson was sentenced to death in 1994 for the 1993 slaying of his wife, Denise, and a business partner, Frank Hoerner, at Stenson's Clallam County exotic bird farm.

"I clearly wanted him dead. But I got smart."

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington lawmakers are considering a plan to save money by abolishing the death penalty in the state. That idea got a hearing in Olympia.

Karil Klingbeil testified in support of the ban. Her sister, Candy Hemmig, was murdered 30 years ago in Olympia. The killer, Mitchell Rupe was dubbed “the man too fat to hang.” He initially got the death penalty, but after 20 years of appeals, received a life sentence instead.

SALEM, Ore. – The first inmate to be executed in Oregon since 1997 will have his hands wrapped in gauze to prevent any final obscene gestures. That's one detail that emerged Friday during a media tour of the state's execution chamber.

A Marion County judge ruled Tuesday that convicted killer Gary Haugen is competent to move ahead with his request to be executed. But so far, the execution has not been ordered.

Haugen wants to waive all his appeals to the death sentence and proceed to execution. But this summer, the state Supreme Court stopped execution plans and ordered the inmate be mentally evaluated.