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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 2, 2000)
Bush eives convicted child killer reorieve ■ Ricky McGinn will have 30 more days to live while potentially exonerating DNA evidence is reviewed By Michael Graczyk The Associated Press HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Gov. George W. Bush, campaigning for president as a compassionate con servative, blocked Thursday evening’s scheduled execution of a convicted killer by approving his first reprieve in a Texas death penalty case. Bush said he approved a 30-day reprieve for Ricky McGinn so that potential DNA evidence that might exonerate him could be re viewed, although the U.S. Supreme Court had earlier denied McGinn’s appeals. “Any time DNA evidence used in this context can be relevant as to the guilt or innocence of a per son on death row, we need to use it,” Bush told reporters in Sacra mento during a hastily arranged news conference. “I expect the courts and all rele vant parties to act expeditiously to review the evidence and finally determine his guilt as to the charge of rape in this case,” added the governor, who took no ques tions. The reprieve came less than a half-hour before the convicted murderer was set to die for killing his 12-year-old stepdaughter sev en years ago. Bush, a conservative Republi can who has been trying to appeal to moderate voters, has allowed 131 lethal injections over his 5 1/2 years as governor of the nation’s busiest execution state. McGinn and his attorneys want additional DNA testing, which they say will exonerate him. Al though DNA evidence was used by prosecutors to help convict McGinn of the May 1993 rape and ax slaying of Stephanie Flanary, his lawyers contend more sophis ticated testing now exists to aid his case. “Thank you for the chance. It came so close,” McGinn told prison officials after receiving the word at 5:42 p.m. CDT, 18 minutes before he could have been taken to the death chamber. “I’m glad. Maybe they’ll see what I’ve been telling them all these years.” The prison warden allowed him to call his family. “I’m just fine,” he told them, asking if they heard the news and telling them he loved them. “He was mostly reserved,” prison spokesman Larry Fitzger ald said, describing McGinn’s de meanor upon hearing word of the reprieve. “He didn’t show a lot of emotion.” Because Bush was campaigning out of state, the reprieve actually was issued by state Sen. Rodney Ellis, a Democrat from Houston, who has approved three previous executions. As president pro-tem of the Texas Senate, Ellis constitu tionally was in charge because Lt. Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, also was out of the state. “Throughout this process, I have been in close contact with the governor’s office and we agree that a reprieve is necessary in this case,” Ellis said. “I sincerely be lieve in the principle of swift and sure punishment, but our para mount concern must always be that justice is done. In my view, it is in the best interests of justice to delay Mr. McGinn’s execution and permit new DNA testing.” McGinn’s attorney, Richard Al ley, said he felt “intense relief” when the reprieve came down. “We had planned for this con tingency, and we expect to have a working agreement within 48 Coursebook Buyback ■ EMU Lobby June 5-8 •8:30 A.M.- 5:00 P.M. June 9 •8:30 A.M.-4:00 P.M. ■ Main Store May 31 - June 10 • Regular store hours hours as to how we’re going to get the evidence and how we’re going to get the testing done,” Alley said. The prosecutor who put McGinn on death row said he re spected Bush’s decision. “I have mixed emotions about it from the standpoint of the family who was sitting there in Huntsville waiting for this to hap pen,” Brown County District At torney Lee Haney said. The McGinn case illustrates a heightened national debate over the death penalty, which Bush fa vors. Illinois Gov. George Ryan, a Republican like Bush, imposed a moratorium on executions in Jan uary amid concern innocent peo ple were on death row. During his tenure as governor, Bush refused in 1998 to block the lethal injection of Karla Tucker, the first execution of a Texas woman since the Civil War era. A second woman, Betty Lou Beets, was executed in February, with Bush abandoning the GOP presi dential primary campaign to re turn to Texas to sign off on her punishment. In 1992, then Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton at least twice pulled off the Democratic presidential cam paign to review the cases of con demned inmates. In each case, the convicts were executed, allowing Clinton to put forth a tough-on crime image in hopes of attracting more conservative voters. For Bush, a reprieve could be perceived as the opposite, allow ing him to soften an image and at tract more moderate voters. Bush’s likely Democratic oppo nent, Vice President A1 Gore, said Thursday that Bush had a difficult decision but that it should not be viewed in terms of politics. “I don’t know the facts of the Texas case, but I think that DNA and DNA testing is a valuable new tool that can provide new evi dence in a lot of cases,” Gore said. Despite the anticipated re prieve, Texas prison officials had prepared for the execution of McGinn, who had even eaten what was to be his final meal: a double-meat cheeseburger, french fries and a Dr Pepper, which he ate in a small cell a few feet from the death house. Earlier, he spent more than 31/2 hours meeting with relatives, then was taken at midday from the Ter rell Unit near Livingston, a to the Huntsville Unit, where execu tions are carried out. Get a higher score anytime, anywhere. Study this summer in one of our 160 centers or online! Call our Eugene Center 345-4420 and ask about our “Summer Study Buddy Special" UPCOMING EUGENE CLASSES: MCAT June 1st GRE June 3rd UPCOMING CORVALLIS CLASSES: GMAT June 22nd GMAT June 24th LSAT June 25th LSAT June 24th TOEFL July 17th GRE July 8th P/SAT August 14th P/SAT July 15th World Leader in Test Prep • kaptest.com MOJO and live DJ EMU Amphitheater June 3, 2000 Saturday 6 pm
