THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 16, 1995 TAG: 9509160265
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday denied, without comment, death-row inmate Dennis W. Stockton's final appeal, which could clear the way for his execution Sept. 27.
The high court was not scheduled to hear Stockton's final appeal until Sept. 26, but the Virginia attorney general's office had requested an expedited review. Mark Minor, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, declined to comment on the ruling Friday.
A federal appeals court last month granted Stockton a temporary stay of execution to allow the Supreme Court time to consider the final appeal. It was not clear late Friday if that stay would be lifted, but if it is, it would clear the way for Stockton's execution.
Stockton, 55, is the dean of Virginia's death row. He was convicted in Patrick County, Va., in 1983 for the 1978 murder-for-hire of Kenneth Arnder, 18. Stockton, who has been on death row since 1983, claims he is innocent of the crime.
Stockton's lawyers contended that the high court needed 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.
By denying the final appeal, the high court apparently decided that there have not been any constitutional violations in his case justifying further review. An order for a review would have been issued if at least four of the nine justices vote in favor.
Stockton was moved to Greensville Correctional Center, where Virginia's death house is located, on Monday, 16 days before his scheduled execution date. By law, an inmate must be moved to Greensville at least 15 days prior to execution.
Stockton this week chose to be executed by lethal injection rather than electrocution. His attorneys could not be reached for comment.
KEYWORDS: DEATH ROW U.S. SUPREME COURT DECISION by CNB