Posted on 02/19/2006 3:33:44 PM PST by SmithL
San Francisco -- A California condemned prisoner who murdered, raped and tortured a girl 25 years ago moved a step closer to death when a federal appeals court dismissed on Sunday petitions seeking to block Tuesday's lethal injection.
Barring a reprieve by the U.S. Supreme Court, where the case is to be appealed, Michael Morales, 46, is to become the 14th prisoner California has executed since voters reinstated capital punishment in 1978. It would be the third execution at San Quentin State Prison, located a few miles north of here, since the Dec. 13 injection of Crips co-founder Stanley Tookie Williams.
Condemned for killing 17-year-old Terri Winchell of Lodi, Morales and his attorneys asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to block his looming execution amid claims that California's three-drug death cocktail, and the way it is administered, amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.
Morales and his attorneys complained that the prisoner might feel too much pain if the sedative he is given doesn't make him unconscious before a paralyzing agent and the final heart-stopping drugs begin coursing through his veins.
In response to those allegations, U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel of San Jose recommended that California employ two anesthesiologists. One would be in the execution chamber with Morales and another nearby to ensure the inmate is unconscious before the two remaining drugs are injected.
Morales appealed, maintaining the injection method, similar versions of which are practiced in 36 of the 38 states with capital punishment, still amounted to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment.
"The quick fix suggested by the district court is completely untested, has never been subjected to any comprehensive legal, medical or administrative review, and represents nothing more than a high stakes experiment with Mr. Morales' constitutional rights
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Good, I hope it hurts. And Hell will hurt too. Bawahhhhahahah.
I thought the USSC said a court couldn't sentence a teen to death?
I think the headline writer meant to convey the idea that the murdered girl was a teen.
(And in any case, I think capital punishment is okay if the killer was at least 18 at the time of the crime.)
I wish some rich, conservative lawyer would file a class action suit against the state of California saying they have to be negligent in their duty since they are averaging less than one a year.
He was a teen at the time of the crime. He is now 46. Don't you just love those dead accurate headlines. Not a bit misleading.
Post 6 has it right. The victim was the teen.
Morales and his attorneys complained that the prisoner might feel too much pain if the sedative he is given doesn't make him unconscious before a paralyzing agent and the final heart-stopping drugs begin coursing through his veins.
As opposed to the amount of pain this piece of human filth inflicted on a 17 year old girl whom he tortured, raped and murdered?
And liberals wonder why more and more of us are actually starting to HATE THEM, particularly liberal judges!
While that would provide some satisfaction to the family I don’t think it would be painful enough.
I prefer staking the creep over a red ant hill.
Another good idea would be having him stung to death by jellyfish. I understand the pain is a cross between burning with a red hot iron and electric shock.
This method stopped Tookie cold.
Sorry, I couldn't resist.
I don't recall ever hearing about Morales' concerns for Terri Winchell's rights under the Eighth Amendment. I think Morales should be put to death the same way he killed Terri...with repeated whacks to the head with a hammer.
``This was an extreme act of brutality,'' Schultz said. ``It's something that makes people stand up and say, `My God.' The viciousness of it all is the reason Michael Morales should die.''
Eternal pain
Teen's murderer may be executed, but for two families, the heartbreak will never end
He was 21 at the time.
"I thought the USSC said a court couldn't sentence a teen to death?"
The headline is a mess, it should read Killer OF Teen, not Teen Killer. The guy isn't a teen and wasn't at the time of his crime. May he rot in hell.
The solution is simple enough. You just quintuple the dose of anesthetic agent. He ain't gonna feel nuthin'.
Back during the Tookie Circus, someone suggested the firing squad- with BB guns. Should take about a week of round-the-clock fire. That hurts just thinking about it.
>Good, I hope it hurts. And Hell will hurt too.
Shhhhhh don't go giving the liberal quacks any new funny excuses; like going to hell would be cruel and unusal punishment.
Meanwhile, the killers bask in the attention focused on them by the adoring MSM and the bands of loons that are convinced that the killers have become saints. .
Thanks for the correction. The headline sucks.
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