Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declined to grant clemency to a rapist-murderer scheduled to die Tuesday
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declined to grant clemency to a rapist-murderer scheduled to die Tuesday at San Quentin State Prison for murdering a girl in 1981.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declined to grant clemency to a rapist-murderer scheduled to die Tuesday at San Quentin State Prison for murdering a girl in 1981.
Michael Morales, 46, admitted that he murdered and raped Terri Winchell, 17, but said his own life was worth sparing because of his remorse and redemption on death row.
The judge who presided over Morales' trial also asked the governor to commute the sentence to life in prison because new evidence casts doubt on the testimony of a key witness (see Feb. 7)
The last time a California governor granted clemency was in 1967 when Gov. Ronald Reagan spared a mentally ill killer.
Michael Morales, 46, admitted that he murdered and raped Terri Winchell, 17, but said his own life was worth sparing because of his remorse and redemption on death row.
The judge who presided over Morales' trial also asked the governor to commute the sentence to life in prison because new evidence casts doubt on the testimony of a key witness (see Feb. 7)
The last time a California governor granted clemency was in 1967 when Gov. Ronald Reagan spared a mentally ill killer.
— SOURCES
- (Sources: Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, 17/02/2006)