Federal Judge Denies Preliminary Injunction
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February 24, 2012
Arizona: District of Arizona Judge Neil Wake denied a preliminary injunction that would have ceased, or at least delayed two approaching executions due to recent changes for the lethal injection protocol in the Arizona Department of Corrections.[1]
Judge Wake has regularly ruled in favor of the Arizona Department of Corrections against the allegations put forth by the Federal Public Defender's Office, which has asked for the delay in the executions of two men, Robert Moormann and Robert Towery. The Federal Public Defender's Office has asked for this delay due to the new protocol which went into effect on January 12th, 2012. Moormann, 63, has been scheduled to be executed on February 29th, 2012, whereas Towery, 46, will be executed on March 8th, 2012.[1]
The new protocol, argued the federal defender, gave too much power to the Corrections Director Charles Ryan, as well as lessened the required qualifications of executioners, and eliminated the chance of a condemned prisoner to meet with his or her attorneys in person on the day they are scheduled to be executed.[1]
This request was denied by Judge Wake, who also ruled in December of 2011 that the Corrections Department never violated a prisoner's right in following their own department protocol. Federal Public Defender's Office Dale Baich plans to appeal these rulings to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
Moorman has been on the death row for 27 years for brutally killing and dismembering his adoptive mother Roberta when she was 74 years old, in addition to serving a life sentence for the kidnapping of an eight-year old girl in 1972.[1]
Towery is being executed for killing a man while he robbed his home in 1991.[1]
Inmate Thomas Paul West was the last inmate to be executed in Arizona on July 19th, 2011 for beating a man to death in a robbery in 1987.[1]
See also
Related articles
- News: Legality of Nebraska's purchase of lethal injection drug questioned, January 11, 2012
- News: Governor Kitzhaber puts hold on Oregon executions, November 25, 2011
- News: Ohio will temporarily stop executions, July 19, 2011
- News: Opponents of death penalty appeal to Oregon Supreme court to reverse ruling, June 13, 2011
- News: Ohio Supreme Court schedules new executions, March 2, 2011
- News: Federal judge dismisses challenge to death penalty, March 8, 2010
Footnotes
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Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Arizona • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Arizona
State courts:
Arizona Supreme Court • Arizona Court of Appeals • Arizona Superior Court • Arizona Justice Courts • Arizona Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Arizona • Arizona judicial elections • Judicial selection in Arizona
