Law and Order

UPDATE (19:29): Back to the drawing board. Hopefully, the state will get this fixed. Unfortunately, they will now have to go back to the courts for another warrant.

Fox News reports (via AP):

Calif. Delays Execution of Killer Indefinitely

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. — The state on Tuesday postponed indefinitely the execution of a condemned killer amid a court battle over the state’s method of lethal injection and the role doctors may play in the death chamber.

State officials notified the federal courts they would be unable to comply with a judge’s order to have a medical professional administer a lethal dose of barbiturate to Michael Morales in the execution chamber, a court spokeswoman told The Associated Press.

[more]

Morales’ execution postponed until Tuesday night – sacbee.com

SAN QUENTIN — Questions over a physician’s role in the death chamber postponed the scheduled execution early Tuesday morning of Michael Angelo Morales, the man condemned for raping and killing a Lodi girl more than two decades ago. Just before 3 a.m. Tuesday, Vernell Crittendon, spokesman for San Quentin State Prison, said the execution was rescheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

In an unprecedented move in California since executions resumed in 1992, an anesthesiologist was to stay with Morales to make sure the 46-year-old man was rendered and remained unconscious after the first round of drugs entered his vein in a three-chemical lethal injection process. Another anesthesiologist was also to be present, but not in the execution chamber.

But anesthesiologists scheduled to monitor the Tuesday morning execution withdrew from the process in response to language in a district court order regarding their roles.

[more]

I must say that I’m surprised that Justice Kennedy sent this up to the entire SCOTUS. The appeal had been shown to be without merit to several courts below. However, it now appears that Michael Morales final appeal has been denied and that justice will finally be done for his victim and her family.

Inset: Morales’ victim Terri Winchell.

From the Sacramento Bee:

U.S. high court denies killer’s bid for stay

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the execution of convicted killer Michael Morales, ending his legal battle to avoid the execution planned for just after midnight.

Justice Anthony Kennedy reviewed the case, then sent it to the full court, which denied Morales’ final appeal at 6:29 p.m. EST, according to court spokesman Ed Turner.

“The court entered orders denying the request for stays of execution,” he said.

The Supreme Court was the only legal option left for Morales, 46, who is scheduled to die from lethal injection at 12:01 a.m. at San Quentin State Prison for killing teenager Terri Winchell, of Lodi.

If SCOTUS refuses to hear this case, it’s a done deal . . .

From the Sacramento Bee: 9th Circuit refuses stay of Morales execution

On Sunday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to stay the execution [of Michael Angelo Morales], turning down defense arguments that Morales was framed and that California’s lethal injection procedure would subject him to an unconstitutional and excruciating level of pain.

The judges ruled that purported new evidence of innocence was presented too late. They also said a lower court had assured that Morales will be unconscious before and during the administration of lethal drugs.

[more]

Just Git-R-Done . . .

(All articles – Sacramento Bee)

Judge OKs doctors to monitor execution

Ruling keeps Morales on track for a lethal injection Tuesday.

A federal judge Thursday accepted California’s revised plans for executing Michael Angelo Morales, putting the execution back on track for 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.
Right: California Gas Chamber now used for lethal injections.
[more]

OK so it’s going down. Now these whiners need to get back to their practices:

Execution doctors an ethics issue

Medical groups criticize plan for physician to assess if the condemned can feel pain.

A plan for California to use an anesthesiologist to monitor the chemically induced demise of a condemned killer has ignited concerns that doctors have no business assisting executions.

Medical groups, including the California Medical Association and the American Society of Anesthesiologists, were quick to condemn the plan, stemming from a ruling by U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel requiring the state to adopt certain safeguards to ensure that inmates don’t feel excessive pain.

“Physicians are healers, not executioners,” the national anesthesiology group said in a statement Wednesday. “The doctor-patient relationship depends upon the inviolate principle that a doctor uses his or her medical expertise only for the benefit of patients.”

I bet Jack Kevorkian would get a kick out of that one.

And these guys need to go to jail:

Defense tries to clear air on clemency plea

Lawyers representing condemned inmate Michael Angelo Morales embarked on a damage-control campaign Thursday – three days after they attracted national publicity by withdrawing clemency documents that may have been forged.

In a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Web logs and an invitation to a press conference this afternoon at San Quentin State Prison, the lawyers tried to shift the attention away from themselves and onto their client, repeating contentions that Morales was framed and “has had nothing to do” with the suspected forgeries by a defense investigator.

The flurry of activity also seemed designed to put distance between the controversy and Morales’ recently recruited big-name attorney, former Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr. His connection with the case – and, now, the forgery allegations – has been reported nationally.