USA - Oregon. John Kitzhaber leaves governor's office without commuting any death-row sentences

John Kitzhaber leaves governor's office without commuting any death-row sentences. After 5 days of speculation, John Kitzhaber stepped down as governor Wednesday without commuting the sentences of any of the state's 34 prisoners sentenced to die. Kitzhaber isn't required by law to publicly disclose his decision, but word would certainly travel fast and a spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Corrections said she'd received no news from Kitzhaber's office that he commuted the sentences of any inmates as of 10 a.m. today. That's when Kate Brown was sworn in as governor. Kitzhaber had remained silent on the subject since last Friday when he announced his pending resignation in the midst of an ethics scandal. In the following days, players in the criminal justice system pondered what the governor would do -- either excitedly or anxiously, depending on which side of the debate they fell. Capital punishment opponents and supporters suddenly were jockeying for a moment with the governor in hopes of persuading him either way. A defense attorney on yesterday renewed a clemency request for the state's oldest death row inmate, 66-year-old Mark Pinnell. An Oregonian/OregonLive poll drew more than 3,000 participants, with 73 % saying Kitzhaber should commute the sentences of those condemned to die to life in prison to add something positive to his legacy. The question made national headlines, with academics from Harvard Law School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill writing an opinion piece for The Huffington Post titled "Gov. Kitzhaber: Your Job Is Not Done."