Murderer-rapist denied execution stay; execution set for Wednesday would be California's first in 5 years

A federal judge on Friday denied a stay of execution for murderer-rapist Albert Greenwood Brown but gave the condemned man a choice whether to die Wednesday by a single injection or the state's recently revised three-drug method.

The decision is expected to clear the way for the state to carry out an execution for the first time in nearly five years.

U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel observed that his court was "painfully aware that however it decides a case of this nature, there will be many who disagree profoundly with its decision. The moral and political debate about capital punishment will continue, as it should."

Fogel had asked the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation earlier this week whether it could use the single-injection method as practiced by Ohio and Washington in executing nine prisoners in recent months without incidents suggesting the men were subjected to intense pain in the process.

"The fact that nine single-drug executions have been carried out in Ohio and Washington without any apparent difficulty is undisputed and significant," Fogel said in a ruling that allowed Brown to join a legal challenge brought by a fellow death-row inmate Michael Morales.

Fogel observed that he was being asked to decide the Brown case "in a severely limited time frame," as the 56-year-old's execution has been set for Wednesday at San Quentin State Prison. But the judge said he acknowledged that the state has "a strong interest in proceeding with its judgment."

Brown had petitioned Fogel's court last week to join the case brought by fellow death row inmate Michael Morales, who had challenged the state's former lethal-injection procedures as violating the Constitution’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.

Attorneys for the state objected, claiming the procedures challenged by Morales are no longer in use, as the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation drafted new execution protocols over the last three years. The new procedures were approved by a state agency in late July.

Fogel halted Morales' execution in February 2006 after the convict's attorneys contended some of the previous prisoners executed by lethal injection in California may not have been fully anesthetized at the time they were administered the third and fatal dose of the three-drug execution sequence. If conscious, and paralyzed by the second injection, the inmates would have suffered intense pain from the injection of potassium chloride that induces cardiac arrest.

-- Carol J. Williams

Comments

[Pete]

Good. Let justice be done.

[Ruben]

It's about time executions resumed in the state. I'm willing to bet Albert Greenwood Brown had zero regard for how humanely he killed his victim thirty years ago. THIRTY YEARS people. Three Zero. Twenty eight years since he was sentenced to death. Unbelievable!

[Apocalypse now]

Suffered intense pain??? Awwwwwwww. Too bad. I know! Guillotine. Painless and works every time. A good crew could do one every ten minutes.

[jay]

Line them up in the Express Lane

[funcoguy]

my question is this! did the people that were victims of these killers have the options of feeling pain or not??

[vic]

Yes continue with the execution of murderer-rapist Albert Greenwood Brown , all those dems are feeling sorry for the murderer-rapist Albert Greenwood Brown, what about the the person that he raped and murdered, who feeling sorry for them, we should get rid of all those inmates on death

[fred]

I used to be against the death penalty as I am pretty liberal. I am now fed up - if we are going to do this we should have a rule that all must be carried out within 5 years. This 30 year plan is nonsense.

[hmph]

what, no details of the case(s) that put him in jail???

[Mike S]

Good riddance to one of the most evil creatures on this planet. For 30 years taxpayers have funded this animal's existence.

[Rick man]

This piece of trash should have been thrown away a long time ago. Your time has come. Take it like the man you thought you were when you murdered and raped your victims. California needs to get back on track with it's executions.

[james andrews]

Jerry Brown put his finger in the air and decided to abandon his life long fight against the death penalty and call for immediate executions now that the new death chamber is finished. No one knows how he would have acted if the election had already passed.

[Becky]

It's funny how everyone cares so much about how much the convicted felon hurts before being put to death. What about the pain he caused to innocent people to get himself in the sitution in the first place. As usual laws protect the guilty more then the innocent. Maybe if a convict was actually put to death right away instead of being allowed to stay on death row for years, it would send a message to the felon's stating "if you commit the crime and are sentenced to die you will not be get another 20 years to live behind bars rent free, 3 meals a day, and clothes on your back," but you will actually die. Maybe it would make some people think before committing the crime in the first place.

[blmh]

Good. not too painful for Mister Brown please I wonder if he was that caring with his victims.... come on Wednesday, it is about time he paid the piper.

[TRUTH OR DARE]

STOP CAPITAL PUNISHMENT !!!!!!! STOP TEACHING OFFICIAL MURDER !!!!!!!

[AF]

So what if he suffers. His victims and their families suffered way more than this piece of vermin ever did and will.

[Theresa Markese]

So what if they suffered intense pain. What do you think they did to their victims? They deserve it.

[BZ]

I am not sure why the judge is so preoccupied with the "painless" death by the injection assigned to a convicted murderer? What is the moral of trying to be "human" toward someone who had no mercy? Why do we kill him instead of becoming merciful and letting him go hoping he would be ashamed and never commit any crimes? One injection or three injection wouldn't do any difference. The convict is about to die. Even one injection method still could be painful, but we cannot possibly know about. Stop playing the game in the name of moral. Either let him free and observe the consequences or kill him and let everybody know what would happen to one who snaps an innocent life.
Thank you

[x-rae]

Why should he even have the choice? Did he ask the person he murder & raped whether they wanted to be subjected to intense pain as they were dying? Hopefully one of his cellmates rapes him in the next 5 days before he's gone for good...

[osanruca]

It made me sick reading about this article, about the challenge that Mr. Morales is making about his case, i would ask him what is the crime the he did and to ask himself what does he think the his victim felt, we have to be realistic, if we want our state to be safer we have to start somewhere and this is the perfect example for all of those who does this for a living, you guys play with fire expect to get burn.

[WRONG!]

Be done with him!!!

[Chris]

These people have no regard for the lives they took. They want us to feel sympatheic and empathetic for them. Did they feel sympathy or empathy for their victims or the families? No! For all of you bleeding heart liberals who feel that somehow these murdering animals should be treated with any sort of regard, keep this in mind: given the opportunity, the animal you defend would slit your throat in a heart beat.

[patti]

you know i jut cant seem to understand why we care about the pain of a person who has raped and merdered someone.. I hope they have great pain or atlease as much as there victums did.. What is wrong with this picture..

[MomOf3]

Good! One less thug we're footing the bill for.

[Pmitton]

I hope it's shown on FOX or maybe HBO ? or showtime?

[LF]

The problem with this story is that we have to remember the victim. This murderer ended the life of a teenage girl. Like we have to feel sorry for this animal. The story does even mention the victim. Let's face it, these condemned prisoners are not the creme of the crop of society.