Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 1, 1995 TAG: 9508010067
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Circuit Judge Charles Stone had said at a hearing last week that he would set the date, but continued the case until Monday to give the Patrick County commonwealth's attorney time to notify Stockton's lawyers in writing about the date - as required by state law.
Stone confirmed Monday that he signed the paperwork to schedule the execution.
Stockton was convicted in 1983 of the murder of Kenneth Arnder, 18, of Patrick County. Arnder's body was found near Mount Airy, N.C. He had been shot in the head and his hands had been hacked off.
Stockton's lawyers are lobbying for Stockton's innocence based on new evidence that has been made public in recent months
The prosecution's key witness in Stockton's 1983 trial, Randy G. Bowman, recanted his testimony in April to a reporter for The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star of Norfolk.
But the state attorney general's office later filed an affidavit in federal court in which Bowman said he never recanted.
In June, U.S. District Judge Jackson Kiser refused to review the case based on the developments involving Bowman.
An investigator in the case, who is now retired, also has said in a statement filed in federal court that he believes Stockton is innocent, and that evidence was withheld from Stockton's lawyers during the 1983 trial.
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to review the case on Sept. 26, according to Stockton's lawyers.
by CNB