San Francisco Chronicle: Killer's execution rescheduled
The execution of Michael Morales for the 1981 rape and murder of a teenage Lodi girl was postponed early today when two anesthesiologists balked at their court-ordered assignment to make sure Morales remained unconscious during the lethal injection.San Quentin State Prison's warden quickly rescheduled the execution for 7:30 tonight by eliminating the anesthesiologists' role and ordering that Morales be put to death with one drug, the powerful barbiturate sodium pentothal, instead of the three that the state has used since 1996. A federal judge had given the state that option but officials had previously rejected it, because it would take an estimated 30 to 45 minutes to kill the inmate instead of the usual eight to 10 minutes.
This delay of execution is BS and delays the justice for Terri Lynn Winchell heinous murder.
Morales should have been executed this morning and the last minute "TAMPERING AND MANIPULATION" of the legal system is to blame.
The voters of California have overwhelmingly voted to restore the death penalty (through the Briggs Initiative). The California and federal courts have done nothing but obstruct and hinder the law for decades. The California Death Penalty Process is BROKEN.
So, what is the FLAP with the anesthesiologists walking out?
The apparent sticking point was the physicians' obligation, under procedures specified by a federal appeals court in a ruling Sunday, to intervene if Morales appeared to regain consciousness or displayed signs of pain. The court said the anesthesiologists would then have to take steps to render the inmate unconscious or "otherwise alleviate the painful effects'' of the drugs."Any such intervention would clearly be medically unethical,'' the doctors said in a written statement today. "As a result, we have withdrawn from participation in this current process.''
So, the 9th Circuit essentially ordered the physicians to kill Morales if they thought he regained consciousness and/or was suffering. The original order by federal judge Jeremy Fogel was inane and was biased towards delay. Fogel ordered:
Article comments
1 - sr
Sick of these bleed heart liberals. Hang the bastard from his balls. What a piece of shit.
2 - Bliffle
You see what problems you get into when you approve the DP?
3 - Justene
Great first post. Work kept me out of the news loop today and I was astonished at this development when I caught up in the evening.
4 - Bing
Yeah liberals have no problem killing thousands of innocent babies but they get a hard on for preserving life every time a convicted murder is about to be executed.
5 - H
It's kind of offensive that at the end you point out the ethnicity of Gonzalez and Morales? Why is that relevant? If they're friends they're friends, leave it at that.
6 - Flap
It is relevant because of the Mexican flag in the photo.
This is an AP caption, by the way.
Flap
7 - Samantha
On the other hand, how interesting that conservatives start fires at women's clinics and gun down doctors that perform abortions and yet they're okay with the government murdering its citizens. Our government can barely get their act together with billion dollar debts, let alone decide who can die. clearly the case with a new man being excused off death row after DNA evidence has proven he's innocent. such is the norm in a country full of violent, biggoted people wanting to murder anyone they can, and say it's "justice."
8 - Trish
Isn't it wonderful how Guerrero can go visit his friend and write to him? That is just great. But wait.... morales is a gang member so is Guerrero one also?? Hum I bet Barbara (Terri's mom), her family and Terri’s friends would love to be able to do the same. FYI: morales planned her killing. He first tried to strangle her, but the belt broke, her fingernails dug deep into her neck. Then he beat her on the head with a hammer (23? times). He and his cousin then dragged her out of the car face down, ran her over with the car then dragged her into a field where he rapped her. As he walked away he turned around and when back and stabbed her to "make sure she was dead". morales cousin, Ortega, ASKED him to kill Terri. I say the Death Penalty in JUSTICE
9 - Terri's Friend
Injection is too good for him~Do to him as he did to Terri! Then justice will have been surved!