derivative work

Unbelievable:

At times the federal appeals court has been unfathomable to its critics. Last December, for instance, it considered the last-minute appeal of Billy Frank Vickers, scheduled to die for the killing of a grocer in 1993. With the inmate already given his last meal, the judges deliberated until 9 p.m. and announced they were leaving, with no decision. Bewildered state prison officials allowed the death warrant to expire, granting Mr. Vickers a delay. He was executed six weeks later.

In October, a Houston federal judge granted a last-minute stay to Dominique Green, but the state appealed. The Fifth Circuit then gave defense lawyers less than half an hour to file their response, Professor Dow said. A rushed brief was e-mailed to the court and turned down. The Supreme Court also rejected a stay, and Mr. Green was executed that night.

— Adam Liptak & Ralph Blumenthal, Death Sentences in Texas Cases Try Supreme Court’s Patience [NYT 12/5]

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 14th, 2004 at 10:07 am and is tagged state Billy Frank Vickers, capital punishment, death penalty, Dominique Green, excerpta, Fifth Circuit, government, litigation, state, Texas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. 1,241 views.