Update on Hill and Rutherford

Hill and Rutherford have gotten stays. Jan 31, 2006. There were tears of joy among the TCADP members who had gathered for the vigil outside the Governor’s Mansion today at 6 PM when word came by cell phone that the Supreme Court had stayed the execution of A. D. Rutherford. The second such stay in as many weeks.
RWF

U.S. Supreme Court action …

A message from someone at the Innocence Project–

Nancy…the USSC will hear Hill’s argument April 26th:

U.S. Supreme Court Halts Execution, Will Hear Appeal (Update1)
Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Supreme Court halted the scheduled
execution of a convicted Florida murderer and agreed to consider his bid
to challenge the state’s method of carrying out death sentences.

Clarence Edward Hill had been scheduled to die by lethal injection
yesterday before Justice Anthony Kennedy issued a last- minute stay of
execution. The full court today extended that stay and said it will hear
arguments in the case in Washington, most likely in April.

Hill contends in his appeal that the three chemicals used by Florida in
its executions “will cause unnecessary pain.'’ He says a 2005 study found
that in 21 of 49 executions around the country, the prisoner endured a
feeling of suffocation and a burning sensation through the veins, followed
by a heart attack.

The case before the justices doesn’t directly consider the method used by
Florida. The court instead will decide whether Hill can make those claims
using a federal civil rights law.

An Atlanta-based federal appeals court, ruling yesterday, said the suit
was barred because it was the “functional equivalent'’ of a so-called
habeas corpus petition, a procedural device used by inmates to challenge
their convictions after appeal.

Under U.S. law, inmates generally can file only a single habeas petition
in federal court — something Hill had already done, the appeals court
said.

Police Officer Death

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist’s spokeswoman, JoAnn Carrin, wasn’t
immediately available for comment.

Hill, now 48, was convicted of the 1982 shooting death of Pensacola,
Florida, police officer Stephen Taylor. Hill killed Taylor and wounded
another officer after they responded to a bank alarm.

Of the 38 U.S. states that have the death penalty, all but Nebraska use
lethal injection, and most use the same three chemicals as Florida,
according to Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty
Information Center in Washington.

Inmates are first injected with sodium pentothal, an anesthetic, followed
by pancuronium bromide, which causes the lungs to shut down and paralyzes
the body. The final chemical, potassium chloride, then induces a fatal
heart attack.

Florida began using lethal injections in 2000, averting a scheduled
Supreme Court argument on the constitutionality of the state’s use of the
electric chair. Florida now uses lethal injections unless the condemned
person opts for the chair. The state has executed 60 people since the
Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.

The case is Hill v. Florida, 05-8794.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: January 25, 2006 15:58 EST

Kennedy stays Hill’s exectution

CNN report. Supreme Court stays Florida prisoner’s execution

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Supreme Court ordered a rare, last-minute stay of execution Tuesday for a Florida man sentenced to die for the 1982 killing of a police officer.

Clarence Hill, 48, had been scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection Tuesday evening. But Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy temporarily stayed the procedure after Hill’s lawyers argued their client was mentally retarded and that the method of execution used in Florida violated the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishments.

The Supreme Court barred the execution of mentally retarded prisoners in 2002.

Kennedy’s order included no immediate explanation for the decision. The justice could refer the case for a decision by the full court. Hill’s execution had been set for 6 p.m. at the Florida State Prison in Starke. His lawyers argued that the combination of chemicals the state uses to kill prisoners causes pain for the dying inmate. — From CNN Producer Bill Mears (Posted 7:48 p.m.)

Services of remembrance

By now you may know that there have been two death warrants signed: one for Clarence E. Hill, whose execution is scheduled for Tuesday, January 24, 2006, at 6:00 pm and another for A.D.Rutherford, whose execution is scheduled for Tuesday, January 31, at 6:00 pm.
I know you share our deep sadness over these two impending deaths as well as for all the circumstances surrounding them.
If there should be any change in these plans, I’ll let you know as soon as possible. Unless you hear otherwise, our plans for TCADP response to this are as follows:

EXECUTION VIGILS–
-for Clarence E. Hill: Tuesday, January 24, 2006, at 5:45 pm
-for A.D.Rutherford: Tuesday, January 31, 2006, at 5:45 pm

Both vigils will be in front of the Governor’s Mansion, corner of Brevard and Adams Streets.

SERVICES OF REMEMBRANCE–
Services of remembrance will follow each execution the next day (Wednesday, January 25 and Wednesday, February 1, 2006).

Both services of remembrance will be at the Great Seal of the State of Florida in the Rotunda of the new Capitol, at noon.

At both the vigils and the services of remembrance we offer our prayerful thoughts for the accused prisoner and his family, the victims of this violence and their famiies, as well as victims of violence throughout the world.

Please join us for these services. Thank you for your continued concern for these issues that are so vital to our human community.

Nancy Smith Fichter

Appeal denied

Florida Supreme Court rejects Rutherford appeal

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — One of two death row inmates scheduled for execution later this month lost an appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday.
The justices without comment unanimously rejected Arthur D. Rutherford’s claim that his rights had been violated because he was placed in shackles during the penalty phase of his trial.
Rutherford, 56, has a separate appeal pending in Santa Rosa County, where he was convicted of killing Stella Salamon in 1985 at her home. Her body was found submerged in a bathtub. Rutherford is scheduled for execution Jan. 31.
The Supreme Court has set oral argument next Wednesday in an appeal by Clarence Edward Hill, 47, who is scheduled to die Jan. 24 for the 1982 shooting death of Pensacola police officer Stephen Taylor during a bank robbery.

Hill’s lawyer contends his execution would be cruel and unusual punishment in part because he is brain damaged and mentally disabled.

©2006 The Associated Press.