Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 3, 1993 TAG: 9302030223
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
EXECUTION APPEAL PLANNED
A lawyer said Tuesday he will ask the state Supreme Court to stop Mickey Davidson's execution because the triple murderer was denied a technical review of his case.All 18 people executed since the death penalty was reimposed in Virginia in 1977 were allowed a detailed factual review, said Anthony Anderson, who was appointed as Davidson's defense attorney less than two weeks ago,
Davidson is scheduled to die tonight in the state's electric chair for the bludgeoning deaths of his wife and two stepdaughters.
"It appears that this is the first time this issue has come before the Supreme Court," Anderson said.
The appeal will be filed when the clerk's office opens today, said Barry A. Weinstein, director of the Virginia Post-Conviction Assistance Project in Richmond. Weinstein and Anderson still were working on the petition Tuesday night.
The court review can determine whether evidence used against a defendant was admissible and whether the defendant received adequate legal representation, Anderson said.
The state has argued that Davidson, 35, gave up his right to the review when he asked that his appeals be dropped and missed a filing deadline.
Davidson was convicted 19 months ago of beating the three victims to death with a crowbar.
Since pleading guilty to the June 1990 murders, Davidson has several times asked the appeals process be stopped and his execution carried out. In each case, he has later changed his mind and restarted his appeals.
If the state Supreme Court denies the appeal, Anderson said he will ask a U.S. District Court judge in Western Virginia to postpone the 11 p.m. execution. The next steps, he said, would be the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Smyth County Circuit Judge Charles Smith faxed an order denying Davidson's appeal to Anderson on Tuesday afternoon.