
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, September 12, 1993                   TAG: 9309120097
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: D-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MARION                                LENGTH: Medium

DEATH ROW INMATE CHANGES MIND AGAIN

Mickey Wayne Davidson, who won a stay of execution just hours before he was to die in Virginia's electric chair, has changed his mind again and wants a new execution date, his attorney said Saturday.

Davidson, who has repeatedly wavered over fighting his death sentence, recently filed a request with Smyth County Circuit Judge Charles Smith asking that his habeas corpus petition be withdrawn and a new execution date set.

He gave no reason for his request, which was filed late last month, and asked that his attorney, Tony Anderson of Roanoke, not be allowed to argue against it.

"He's probably changed his mind several times since then," Anderson said. "I literally have had days where he's called five or six times. And each phone call is a different position than the previous one." Anderson will continue to pursue the petition despite Davidson's indecisiveness, which is beginning to give him "a migraine," he said.

Davidson, 36, of Saltville, had been set to die Feb. 3 for killing his wife and two stepdaughters with a crowbar. But his execution was stayed while he appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court for time to file a habeas corpus petition. Anderson filed the petition in July.

The petition alleged Davidson should not have been allowed to plead guilty to the triple murder. It also asks that he be granted a new trial because he was inadequately represented and argues he was under the influence of a serious alcohol problem at the time of the slayings.

Assistant State Attorney General Oliver Norrell, who is handling the case for the state, filed a response to the habeas petition on Thursday. He also filed a motion to dismiss the petition.

"His own confession revealed that he killed his wife and stepdaughters because they intended to leave him," Norrell wrote. "The decision to kill them in response to their anticipated departure clearly shows both deliberation and premeditation."

Davidson has changed his mind several times over appealing his death sentence and letting the sentence be carried out. But Anderson has said being "wishy-washy" is no reason for Davidson to lose a constitutional right.

by CNB