THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 22, 1995 TAG: 9508220276
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOE JACKSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
A federal appeals court on Monday granted death-row inmate Dennis Stockton a temporary stay of execution until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on his final appeal.
Late last month, a Circuit Court judge in Patrick County set Stockton's execution for Sept. 27, one day after the high court was set to consider Stockton's case. The state had originally petitioned the court to set Stockton's execution for Sept. 14, 12 days before the scheduled Supreme Court review.
But in Monday's order, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the attorney general's office ``should not seek the setting of an execution date until the Supreme Court has ruled . . .''
This means that Stockton, who has been on death row more than 12 years - longer than any other inmate in Virginia - probably can not be executed until October or November at the earliest, said Anthony King, Stockton's attorney. Stockton was convicted in 1983 for the 1978 murder of Kenneth Arnder, 18.
A letter sent Monday to the attorney general's office and to Stockton's lawyers by Bert M. Montague, clerk of the federal appeals court, addressed the last-minute maneuvering around Stockton's execution date in unusually harsh language.
``The court notes that this is at least the second case in which it appears to the court that the Attorney General of Virginia and attorneys for defendants seem to be manipulating and maneuvering around execution dates,'' Montague wrote. ``I have been directed by the court to specifically inform counsel that the court does not appreciate such actions. I draw your attention to the specific language of the order which provides that the Attorney General's Office should not seek the setting of an execution date until the Supreme Court has ruled . . .''
Stockton's lawyers have long contended that the high court needs time to review new evidence in the case. In April, the key witness in Stockton's 1983 trial recanted his testimony to a reporter for The Virginian-Pilot.
The witness, Randy G. Bowman, testified in 1983 that he had overheard Stockton agree to accept money to kill Arnder, whose body was found near Mount Airy, N.C. He had been shot in the head and his hands had been hacked off.
Bowman told the newspaper this year that he never heard the money-for-hire deal. But the attorney general's office later filed an affidavit in federal court in which Bowman claimed he never recanted.
Stockton's lawyers also have said that Stockton deserves a new hearing because the state failed to disclose evidence that could have helped Stockton during his trial, including details of an alleged deal that prosecutors made with Bowman in exchange for his testimony.
The Supreme Court will rule on Stockton's appeal for a review of the records to determine whether there have been any constitutional violations in his case. The order for a review will be issued if at least four of the nine justices vote in favor.
KEYWORDS: CAPITAL PUNISHMENT STAY OF EXECUTION by CNB