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A fourth execution date has come and gone, and there is growing doubt the execution of serial killer Michael Ross will take place as scheduled at 9 p.m. Monday.
The most recent execution countdown ended abruptly early Saturday morning when Ross' lawyer, T.R. Paulding, said he needed time to explore a possible conflict of interest in his representation of Ross. He did not elaborate, but the decision came hours after the state's chief federal judge berated his course of action and advised him in the strongest of words to reconsider his efforts to help Ross "volunteer" to be executed
The most recent execution countdown ended abruptly early Saturday morning when Ross' lawyer, T.R. Paulding, said he needed time to explore a possible conflict of interest in his representation of Ross. He did not elaborate, but the decision came hours after the state's chief federal judge berated his course of action and advised him in the strongest of words to reconsider his efforts to help Ross "volunteer" to be executed.
If Paulding withdraws as counsel, lawyers say no execution could proceed - even if Ross wanted it to - until standby counsel could be appointed and become thoroughly versed in the frenzied events of the past two months.
Paulding, who now holds as much power as Ross does on whether the state's first execution in nearly 45 years goes forward, isn't revealing his game plan or his timetable for making a decision.
"I have been spending a good portion of the day getting opinions and advice, including from an ethical expert," was all Paulding would say Saturday. He did say he began reaching out to other lawyers for advice almost as soon as Friday afternoon's 55-minute teleconference involving Chief U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny, public defenders and private lawyers who worked to halt the execution and himself ended.
Paulding would not say how Ross reacted as the drama that would undermine the execution unfolded inside the walls of Osborn Correctional Institution, where Paulding had been given an office midday Friday. He was at the prison during the telephone conference, which began at 3 p.m. and ended at 3:55 p.m.
Among other things, Chatigny told Paulding:
"What you are doing is terribly, terribly wrong. No matter how well motivated you are, you have a client whose competence is in serious doubt and you don't know what you're talking about."
"I warn you, Mr. Paulding, between now and whatever happens Sunday night, you better be prepared to live with yourself for the rest of your life. And you better be prepared to deal with me if in the wake of this an investigation is conducted."
"So I don't know how anybody in your position honestly, Mr. Paulding, I do not know how anybody in your position could be accepting of this responsibility to proceed in the face of this record to be the proximate cause of this man's death. I put it to you, Mr. Paulding, I think you are way out on a limb."
Paulding's calls to experts Friday afternoon were made between visits with Ross and conversations with prosecutors. Paulding had intended to spend the afternoon filling in gaps in Ross' visiting schedule - prompted by the execution date postponements and uncertainty - and monitoring the countdown procedures.
The suspense of whether the execution would take place early Saturday morning at first focused more on deliberations by the U.S. Supreme Court whether to vacate a second order halting it. The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court earlier in the day dissolved a temporary restraining order issued by Chatigny, but issued a stay of its own.
Irregularities in the execution procedure were noted Friday night, but were chalked up to the ongoing deliberations by the nation's highest court. Reporters were not given information about Ross' last meal or his last day's activities.
Word that the U.S. Supreme Court had vacated the stay came just before 10 p.m. Friday, removing the last legal impediment to the execution. In four hours Ross would be dead, unless he suddenly changed his mind and decided to pursue appeals still available. The Paulding factor was unknown at this point, though transcripts of the telephone conference were circulating and raising questions
...................................................................................................................."We are absolutely determined to make the criminal justice system work," Blumenthal said. "There is a process and there is no rush to judgment. The process has to provide justice to all citizens, including and most importantly, the victims' families who have experienced unimaginable anguish and pain."
http://www.ctnow.com/news/custom/to...?coll=hc-headlines-topnews&ctrack=1&cset=true
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This guy has been tried and convicted for the murders of 8 women. He has been sitting on death row awaiting execution. Suddenly the "process" seems more important than the victims, the families, the trial, the conviction, or even more important than the sentence. Is it just me or is this wrong?
The most recent execution countdown ended abruptly early Saturday morning when Ross' lawyer, T.R. Paulding, said he needed time to explore a possible conflict of interest in his representation of Ross. He did not elaborate, but the decision came hours after the state's chief federal judge berated his course of action and advised him in the strongest of words to reconsider his efforts to help Ross "volunteer" to be executed
The most recent execution countdown ended abruptly early Saturday morning when Ross' lawyer, T.R. Paulding, said he needed time to explore a possible conflict of interest in his representation of Ross. He did not elaborate, but the decision came hours after the state's chief federal judge berated his course of action and advised him in the strongest of words to reconsider his efforts to help Ross "volunteer" to be executed.
If Paulding withdraws as counsel, lawyers say no execution could proceed - even if Ross wanted it to - until standby counsel could be appointed and become thoroughly versed in the frenzied events of the past two months.
Paulding, who now holds as much power as Ross does on whether the state's first execution in nearly 45 years goes forward, isn't revealing his game plan or his timetable for making a decision.
"I have been spending a good portion of the day getting opinions and advice, including from an ethical expert," was all Paulding would say Saturday. He did say he began reaching out to other lawyers for advice almost as soon as Friday afternoon's 55-minute teleconference involving Chief U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny, public defenders and private lawyers who worked to halt the execution and himself ended.
Paulding would not say how Ross reacted as the drama that would undermine the execution unfolded inside the walls of Osborn Correctional Institution, where Paulding had been given an office midday Friday. He was at the prison during the telephone conference, which began at 3 p.m. and ended at 3:55 p.m.
Among other things, Chatigny told Paulding:
"What you are doing is terribly, terribly wrong. No matter how well motivated you are, you have a client whose competence is in serious doubt and you don't know what you're talking about."
"I warn you, Mr. Paulding, between now and whatever happens Sunday night, you better be prepared to live with yourself for the rest of your life. And you better be prepared to deal with me if in the wake of this an investigation is conducted."
"So I don't know how anybody in your position honestly, Mr. Paulding, I do not know how anybody in your position could be accepting of this responsibility to proceed in the face of this record to be the proximate cause of this man's death. I put it to you, Mr. Paulding, I think you are way out on a limb."
Paulding's calls to experts Friday afternoon were made between visits with Ross and conversations with prosecutors. Paulding had intended to spend the afternoon filling in gaps in Ross' visiting schedule - prompted by the execution date postponements and uncertainty - and monitoring the countdown procedures.
The suspense of whether the execution would take place early Saturday morning at first focused more on deliberations by the U.S. Supreme Court whether to vacate a second order halting it. The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court earlier in the day dissolved a temporary restraining order issued by Chatigny, but issued a stay of its own.
Irregularities in the execution procedure were noted Friday night, but were chalked up to the ongoing deliberations by the nation's highest court. Reporters were not given information about Ross' last meal or his last day's activities.
Word that the U.S. Supreme Court had vacated the stay came just before 10 p.m. Friday, removing the last legal impediment to the execution. In four hours Ross would be dead, unless he suddenly changed his mind and decided to pursue appeals still available. The Paulding factor was unknown at this point, though transcripts of the telephone conference were circulating and raising questions
...................................................................................................................."We are absolutely determined to make the criminal justice system work," Blumenthal said. "There is a process and there is no rush to judgment. The process has to provide justice to all citizens, including and most importantly, the victims' families who have experienced unimaginable anguish and pain."
http://www.ctnow.com/news/custom/to...?coll=hc-headlines-topnews&ctrack=1&cset=true
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This guy has been tried and convicted for the murders of 8 women. He has been sitting on death row awaiting execution. Suddenly the "process" seems more important than the victims, the families, the trial, the conviction, or even more important than the sentence. Is it just me or is this wrong?