posted on January 29, 2004 06:42:44 PM newSchwarzenegger Must Decide on Plea for Mercy From Convicted Killer
By David Kravets Associated Press Writer
Published: Jan 29, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Still on his political honeymoon, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is facing his first plea for clemency, from a condemned inmate set to die by injection Feb. 10 for hacking four people to death.
Schwarzenegger has already granted parole to at least six murderers and settled a long-running lawsuit, filed by inmates during the Davis administration, by affirming parole violators' rights to contest their charges.
"The crime was extraordinarily grisly, and granting clemency on the first request to hit his desk could hurt the new governor politically just when he needs all the help he can get to solve the state's fiscal crisis."
It's amazing that solving fiscal crisis will influence his decision to kill a man.
posted on January 29, 2004 07:17:32 PM new
It reminds me of the Iraq war resolution and the number of congressmen who voted for that war because it was politically expedient.
posted on January 29, 2004 07:31:52 PM new
Yes, politics is a fascinatingly intricate game, isn't it, Helen? Like chess -- although some of the Political (real life) players on the board today wouldn't have a clue as to how to navigate (or distinguish between) a knight and a pawn...
Sideways to all of that, I must reiterate my thorough displeasure with "Democrat" Senator Dianne Feinstein. I've been so disappointed in her roll-overs on key issues. I guess she deemed her Senate votes "politically expedient" at the time.
posted on January 30, 2004 05:51:13 PM newGov. Schwarzenegger Denies Clemency to Convicted Murderer
By Tom Chorneau Associated Press Writer
Published: Jan 30, 2004
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger denied clemency Friday to a man convicted of murdering a couple, their 10-year-old daughter and their daughter's friend with a buck knife and a hatchet.
It was the first death penalty case for the new Republican governor and the decision cleared the way for Kevin Cooper's execution, scheduled for Feb. 10.
Cooper was convicted of the 1983 stabbing deaths of Douglas and Peggy Ryen, both 41, their daughter, Jessica, and her 11-year-old friend, Christopher Hughes. The Ryens' 8-year-old son, Joshua, survived a slit throat.
Cooper, now 46, had escaped from prison, where he was doing time for burglary. Authorities believe he wanted to steal the family's station wagon.
The case drew attention because Cooper's family believed key evidence had not been considered, but Schwarzenegger said the case had been fully evaluated.
"Evidence establishing his guilt is overwhelming, and his conversion to faith and his mentoring of others, while commendable, do not diminish the cruelty and destruction he has inflicted on so many," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
Christopher Hughes' mother said the governor's office faxed a copy of his decision to the family. The mother, Mary Ann Hughes, said she hoped now that Cooper would be executed when scheduled.
"It's got the governor's blessing now, that's key," she said.
Lanny Davis, a lawyer with the firm representing Cooper, called Schwarzenegger's decision "regrettable" and called for a delay to allow time for an independent review.
No California governor has granted clemency to a condemned murderer since Ronald Reagan in 1967 spared the life of a severely brain-damaged killer.
Maintaining his innocence during 18 years of appeals, Cooper succeeded in having DNA tests conducted on evidence at the scene, but the tests indicated he was the killer.
