Federal Judiciary

Georgia inmate spared

By Akin Gump Supreme Court Practice Group

A state pardon board in Georgia on Thursday nullified the death sentence of Samuel David Crowe, substituting a sentence of life without parole.  Crowe, sentenced to die for a 1988 murder and armed robbery of a lumber store clerk, had been scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. Thursday.  He had filed a new appeal to the Supreme Court (07-11039) and an application to postpone his execution (07A924), but the Court had not acted on either before the death sentence was commuted.  His petition raised issues about the timing of his challenge to Georgia’s lethal drugs protocol for executions.  The Eleventh Circuit Court ruled that his challenge was barred by a statute of limitations.

The order of the state Board of Pardons and Paroles can be found here.  The Board gave no reason for its action, simply noting that it had been asked for clemency and citing provisions of the state constitution spelling out its authority to do so.

Full post as published by SCOTUSBLOG on May 22, 2008 (boomark / email).