THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 21, 1995 TAG: 9509210403
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LAURA LAFAY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
Since 1993, Virginia has executed nine convicted murderers. During the next three months, it plans to execute nine more.
First on the list is Lem Tuggle, scheduled to die by lethal injection tonight for the 1983 rape and murder of a Smyth County woman.
Next is Dennis Stockton, set to die Wednesday for the murder of a Mount Airy man. Stockton was denied review from the U.S. Supreme Court last Friday, but his lawyers have asked the Virginia Supreme Court for another trial based on new evidence of innocence. The seven remaining executions are to take place between Oct. 5 and Dec. 14.
One reason the state's list of execution dates has grown so long is the Capital Habeas Reform Act. The act, which requires an execution date to be set once an inmate has exhausted almost all state and federal appeals, was proposed and promoted last year by state Attorney General James Gilmore. Eager to be tough on crime, Virginia legislators passed the bill overwhelmingly during their 1995 session. The bill took effect July 1.
But some prisoner advocates and at least one state legislator say there is another reason for the long list: the November elections. Seven of the nine executions are scheduled to take place before the Nov. 7 elections.
Gilmore's office adamantly denies the claims.
Republicans need gain only three seats in the house and three in the Senate to control both chambers for the first time in the state's history. A GOP takeover would smooth the way for Republican Gov. George F. Allen to carry out his conservative agenda.
``There is a strong inference that can be drawn from this,'' said Del. William P. Robinson Jr., D-Norfolk, one of only 12 delegates who voted against Gilmore's bill. ``I'm sure they had the elections in mind when they set up the time frame so the legislation would take effect July 1. It's just too coincidental. I don't think they do anything by accident. I give them credit for great planning.''
The fact that the state, which has put just two inmates to death since January, has scheduled so many more executions before the elections ``could be interpreted as politically motivated,'' said Kent Willis, director of the Virginia chapter of the ACLU.
``If this administration has a central theme, it's been the pursuit of a more punitive criminal justice system,'' said Willis. ``And there is no better symbol of that than an execution.''
Gilmore's office emphatically denies that the state was motivated by politics.
``In a nutshell, it's not political,'' said spokesman Mark Miner. ``The General Assembly passed this, and we're following the law.''
The fates of the condemned men should not be emphasized over the fates of their victims, said Miner. ``It's important to remember that 12 people died at the hands of these nine people,'' he said.
According to the new law, the attorney general's office or the commonwealth's attorney who prosecuted the case must request an execution date from the trial judge. These requests are made once an inmate's habeas petition has been turned down by either the state Supreme Court or by U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
In each of the nine cases at hand, lawyers from the attorney general's office requested that the dates be set. In some of the cases, they asked to schedule executions before the U.S. Supreme Court was set to review them.
Tuggle, for example, had been given until Oct. 23 to submit his final appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. But a lawyer from the attorney general's office requested a date almost a month earlier. Tuggle's lawyer had to rush to file the petition, which was denied last week.
Gerald T. Zerkin, a Richmond lawyer who currently represents five condemned inmates, said he does see a political connection between the state's death list and the upcoming elections. But not a direct one.
``While you can't say directly that these dates have been set because of politics, the (habeas reform) law itself is the result of politics,'' he said.
``I'm sure the vision of the November elections was a factor when they decided to pass this statute.''
That idea shocks Lacey E. Putney, I-Bedford, the only independent member of the Virginia legislature. Putney said Wednesday that he does not believe the executions could have been scheduled for political reasons.
``I cannot imagine anyone in public office even thinking in terms of political advantage with regards to something as serious as an execution,'' he said.
``I cannot imagine Election Day being a factor in an execution. I would be distressed to find out to the contrary. It's inhumane to me to even think about something like that. I can't believe that this administration or any administration would do it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Lem Tuggle
Dennis Stockton
Herman Barnes
Thomas Beavers
Mickey Davidson
Mario Murphy
George Quesinberry
Thomas Strickler
Coleman Gray
KEYWORDS: DEATH ROW CAPITAL PUNISHMENT EXECUTION VIRGINIA MURDER by CNB