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

DATE: TUESDAY, March 14, 1995                   TAG: 9503140151
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                 LENGTH: Medium

1ST FEDERAL EXECUTION SINCE 1963 SCHEDULED

The Federal Bureau of Prisons plans a March 30 execution for a convicted drug trafficker who authorized a contract murder, a move that would mark the first time the federal government has used capital punishment since 1963.

David Ronald Chandler, an Alabama drug trafficker who was convicted of hiring a hitman to kill a police informant, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind. In recent days, federal authorities have notified Chandler of the execution date, but his attorney said he plans to seek a new trial based on new evidence.

Chandler was the first inmate to receive the death sentence under the federal Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, which provides for capital punishment for killings associated with a criminal enterprise. Five other federal inmates convicted under this statute are awaiting execution.

Although many states have reinstituted the death penalty in recent years, federal laws have allowed for capital punishment in only a few instances. At least 40 people have been charged with capital offenses under the stiff 1988 drug abuse act, and another three have been charged with capital crimes under last year's omnibus crime bill, said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.

``Crime has been a real concern, and the political response has been to expand the death penalty and quicken the process of execution. Now we are seeing the results,'' Dieter said.

Meanwhile, Chandler's attorney, John ``Jack'' Martin, challenged the government's action, saying he had uncovered information proving his client's innocence and that he couldn't believe the Justice Department's ``audacity'' in proceeding.

The government's move rekindled the long-standing debate over capital punishment. The federal government's action tells the international community ``we are putting a national stamp of approval on this,'' said Diann Rust-Tierney, who heads the American Civil Liberty Union's capital punishment project. "It's outrageous, classic diversion strategy. ... There is no indication that this will have any impact on crime.''

But Rep. Bill McCollum, R-Fla., chairman of the House crime subcommittee, said Chandler's crime sounded like the ``reason we created the statute.''

Chandler, 42, was convicted of directing Charles Ray Jarrell Sr. in May 1990 to murder Marlin Shuler, whom he suspected of cooperating with police to break up a marijuana trafficking ring. He also was convicted of drug conspiracy, continuing a criminal enterprise, money laundering and a firearm offense.

Chandler's attorney claims Jarrell has changed his initial testimony and has given a sworn affidavit that could exonerate his client. ``How could any government official in good conscious schedule an execution date?'' Martin asked.

by CNB