June 7
USA:
Feds decide not to appeal Hammer stay
Execution preparation stops at U.S. penitentiary
Federal officials have decided not to appeal a stay of execution for David
Paul Hammer and have stopped moving forward with execution procedures at
the U.S. Penitentiary, Terre Haute, the death row inmate's defense team
says.
"The stay is in place and nothing will be done on Tuesday," said Dave
Sprout, paralegal to Hammer's attorney, Ron Travis of Williamsport, Pa.
The announcement came Saturday morning and prison officials said they have
"stepped down" from execution protocol, Sprout said.
Hammer, 45, was sentenced to die in 1998 after pleading guilty to the 1996
strangulation death of his cellmate Andrew Marti, 27, in U.S.
Penitentiary, Allenwood in Pennsylvania.
Hammer was scheduled to die by lethal injection at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Prison officials could not be reached for comment Sunday.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court in Philadelphia on Thursday issued a stay of
execution because a January competency hearing for Hammer, who had waived
his appeals, was improperly conducted, the court said. During the hearing,
Hammer was asked if he understood what he was doing but never why he was
doing it, Travis said during the May 27 hearing.
The Circuit Court agreed, sending the case back to district court so
Hammer could reinstate the appeals process or waive it again. Whatever his
decision, it will be final because he has "flipped and flopped" over
wanting to die so much in the past, according to the court's decision.
Thursday's stay of execution was Hammer's third. He previously had been
scheduled for execution in January 1999 and November 2000 after waiving
his appeals. He changed his mind both times.
Officials within the Department of Justice indicated to defense attorneys
Friday they would seek an appeal of the Circuit Court's decision. During
that time, Terre Haute prison officials planned to move forward with
execution procedure, which including moving Hammer after midnight Sunday
to the building which houses the execution chamber.
"It has been a roller-coaster," said Kathy Nichols, Hammer's cousin who
lives in Oklahoma, about the weekend's events. "We'll see what happens
from here."
(source: Tribune-Star)
