Federal judge calls off Wednesday execution

A federal judge in Baton Rouge ruled Thursday that the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections cannot execute convicted child killer Christopher Sepulvado on Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge James J. Brady said at the end of a hearing of more than two hours that state officials forced him to take that action by refusing for years to provide Sepulvado and his attorneys with details of the execution process. Brady said that lack of information includes questions about the supply of death-dealing drugs used for lethal injections.

“The intransigence of the state … in failing to produce the protocol requires the court to issue this order,” Brady added.

As long as Brady’s order remains in force, no death row inmate can be executed in Louisiana, Gary P. Clements, Supulvado’s attorney, said after the hearing.

Sepulvado, 69, of DeSoto Parish, was convicted on a charge of murder in 1993. Jurors decided that Sepulvado beat and scalded to death his 6-year-old stepson, Wesley Allen Mercer, in 1992.

In DeSoto Parish, District Attorney Richard Z. Johnson Jr. said late Thursday that he and the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office would ask the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn Brady’s order and reinstate corrections officials’ plans for the execution of Sepulvado.

“We (in DeSoto Parish) are going to file a friend-of-the-court brief backing the attorney general’s decision to appeal,” Johnson added.

In Baton Rouge, Attorney General Buddy Caldwell issued a written statement through Communications Director Amanda Papillion Larkins: “This horrific murder of a 6-year-old occurred over 20 years ago. A jury handed down a death sentence for this murderer, and over the past 16 years, state and federal courts at all levels have confirmed his guilt.”

Caldwell also wrote: “We respectfully disagree with Judge Brady’s ruling to indefinitely delay these proceedings at the 11th hour and are confident we will prevail on appeal.”

Larkins said Caldwell and his assistants would ask the 5th Circuit “to review the case as expeditiously as possible.”

Sean Lansing, press secretary to Gov. Bobby Jindal, said of the state’s lethal injection process: “We are confident the method of carrying out this sentence is an acceptable procedure under the United States and Louisiana constitutions.”

But Sophie Cull, director of the Louisiana Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, said in an email that she disagrees with state officials’ view of the dispute.

“It is troubling that the state will not disclose the details of how it intends to kill Chris Sepulvado and others on Death Row in Louisiana,” Cull said.

“Transparency in government is vital to our democracy and key to ensuring that a legal procedure — here, the most extreme act a government can take against an individual — accords with Louisiana law and the U.S. Constitution,” Cull added.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider Sepulvado’s appeal several years ago.

But Brady ruled Thursday that corrections officials wrongly denied Sepulvado’s request for all details of his planned execution. The judge noted that Sepulvado and his attorneys did not know until this week that corrections officials have decided to execute him with a single dose of pentobarbital rather than a three-drug concoction used for the state’s last execution, that of Gerald Bordelon in 2010.

Wade Shows, attorney for the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, told Brady that attorneys for Sepulvado and another death row inmate, Jessie Hoffman, waited too late to challenge the state’s lethal injection program on the possibility it might cause convicted murderers extreme pain.

Shows argued the inmates should have requested the state’s lethal injection information earlier through specific questions attached to their court suits.

Shows noted that six states — Arizona, Idaho, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas and Washington — already use a single dose of pentobarbital to execute death row inmates.

“We want to do it appropriately,” Shows said of the release of information about Louisiana’s lethal-injection process.

“You have been trying to obtain this protocol since 2010?” Brady asked Clements, Sepulvado’s attorney.

“That is correct,” Clements said.

Clements said Sepulvado cannot adequately challenge the state’s latest lethal-injection plan until corrections officials provide the source and age of their pentobarbital supply and confirm that supply is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“It’s a Catch-22 situation,” Clements told the judge.

After Brady issued his order, Shows handed him an affidavit by Mary B. Labatut, pharmacy director at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

Labatut said in that affidavit: “I have personal knowledge that (Angola) currently has in stock the drug pentobarbital, purchased from Lundbeck, Inc., of Deerfield, Illinois.”

That is not enough information, Clements said after the hearing. He said state officials also must provide the age of those drugs and identify the location where they were manufactured.

“I need the whole supply chain,” Clements said.

Comments

1) Comment by jedleland - 08/02/2013

by the way, the 'story' is quite true and available on the interwebs as are a surprising number of others. All reported by legitimate news organisations with no names or places changed. i know living here in the nasty bible belt its hard to believe that there are christains elswhere, or muslims, who arent bent on toughguy vengeance talk and constant judgement and death. but then thats why southern religious conservatives have such a bad reputation as hatemongers and angry bigots isnt it? some christains, and muslims, mind you, actually feel the responsibility to fulfil their faith and not just give it weekly lip service on sunday mornings before heading back to the keyboard to act tough. when you all head up to your pearly gates, guess which ones of you are going to have to answer some questions - that old lady who forgave, the muslim fella in texas, or some internet doofus talking tough. of course, if you dont believe all of that, then its all moot anyway.

2) Comment by jedleland - 08/02/2013

hey im not the one pretending to be a christain so dont apologise to me. and who said anything about passion or compassion? you can punish someone without killing them you know. here is another case this timeout of Texas after 9/11. "In the nine years Mark Stroman has been on death row in Texas, he says he has watched 208 people walk past him on the way to be executed. This week it is his turn. But fighting to save his life is the man he shot in the face and blinded in one eye. In the days following 11 September, 2001, Stroman attacked three people, killing two of them. The attack left Rais Bhuyian blind in his right eye He was targeting anyone he considered an "Arab", calling it revenge for 9/11. "What Mark Stroman did was a hate crime, and hate crimes come from ignorance," said Rais Bhuiyan, 37, the only man to survive the shooting. "His execution will not eradicate hate crimes from this world, we will just simply lose another human life." It was a Friday lunchtime when a gunman walked into the petrol station shop and pointed a double-barrelled shotgun at Rais. He had been robbed before and knew what to do. He offered the money from the cash register, but that didn't appear to be what Mark Stroman had come for. "He asked me 'where are you from?' and that's a strange question to ask in a robbery. As soon as I said 'excuse me?' I heard an explosion and felt the sensation of a million bees stinging my face." Rais Bhuyian, a Bangladeshi-born naturalised US citizen, played dead until his attacker left. If I can forgive my offender who tried to take my life, we can all work together to forgive each other and move forward” End Quote Rais Bhuyian Victim He needed many operations, has lost the sight in his right eye and still carries shotgun pellets in his face, but is now campaigning hard to prevent his attacker from being put to death. Mark Stroman killed two other men in a similar way - Vasudev Patel, an Indian immigrant who was Hindu, and Waqar Hasan, a Muslim born in Pakistan. They were both shot as they stood behind a counter. "I was an uneducated idiot back then and now I'm a more understanding human being," Stroman said through the black telephone handset, from behind a thick pane of glass in the death row visiting room at the Polunsky Unit, Livingston, Texas. It was a week before the death sentence was due to be carried out, and his last opportunity to speak publicly about what he did, why he did it, and what he thought about the man he shot who was now fighting for his life. "At that time here in America everybody was saying 'let's get them' - we didn't know who to get, we were just stereotyping. I stereotyped all Muslims as terrorists and that was wrong." Stroman is shaven-headed and covered in tattoos. He made a point of putting up a small American flag on the counter behind the thick glass as the camera started rolling for the interview. Mark Stroman is due to be put to death by lethal injection At 41, he has lost some of the muscle he had when he appeared in court nine years ago, when he proudly held up an American flag and gave the thumbs up to the courtroom cameras. "I had some poor upbringing and I grabbed a hold of some ideas which was ignorance, you know, and hate is pure ignorance. I no longer want to be like hate, I want to be like me," he said. "No matter what I do or say is going to change the fact that even you are going to view the Muslims as suspect," he told me. "If you get on the airplane and you see one, you might not be wanting to, but you are going to watch that person - we live in different times now, but it's not right to stereotype them and I'm the first to admit I did that." Rais Bhuyian is a Muslim, and on what he feared was his deathbed, he promised Allah he would make a pilgrimage to the Hajj in Mecca. There he thought more deeply about what had happened and what he wanted to do. "This campaign is all about passion, forgiveness, tolerance and healing. We should not stay in the past, we must move forward," he said. "If I can forgive my offender who tried to take my life, we can all work together to forgive each other and move forward and take a new narrative on the 10th anniversary of 11 September." He had been in touch with Stroman, who he would like to see as "a spokesperson, an educator, teaching a lot of people as ignorant as him what is wrong". Stroman says he has asked himself the question a thousand times - would he be able to forgive the man who shot him in the face? He said he would find it very hard. "I tried to kill this man, and this man is now trying to save my life. This man is inspiring to me. "Here it is, the attacker and the attackee, you know, pulling together. The hate has to stop - one second of hate will cause a lifetime of misery. I've done that - it's wrong, and if me and Rais can reach one person, mission accomplished. "If this is what my purpose in life is, let's do it - rock on, saddle up it's rodeo time as we say in Texas." It seems very unlikely that the governor of Texas will issue a stay of execution - the state is known for its regular use of the death penalty - but Stroman seems resigned to it. "To be honest, the closer I get to death the more at peace I am," he said. Rais Bhuiyan's desire to forgive and to stop this execution is a small step towards bringing communities together. "He did what he did, but now he is a different person, and can talk to the people - those who are as ignorant as him - so there is a chance we can live in a better society. Execution is not a solution in this case." If you cant see yourself in those shoes acting as these men have, then dont bother going to church on sunday.

3) Comment by Whatchange - 08/02/2013

foldgers; no argument at all, I understand the role of lawyers, that was kinda like sarcasm, I also know the US Supreme Court refused to hear his case, so his lawyer did the only thing he could, invent something. You watch, next thing, the state will give his lawyer everything he has asked for, then he will file that the drugs are expired, or they were manufactured improperly, or the the manufacture is not an approved manufacturer/supplier. Hopefully the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will overturn Brady’s order. @jedleland; I'm sorry you feel passion for this child killer and I'm sure the mother you told the "story" about is a better person for it, now me, I believe in god, but vengeance is not his, it is mine, take that anyway you want to. The way I look at it, if they processed the killers on death row quicker they wouldn't have to live in their bathroom they could live in their coffin.

4) Comment by jedleland - 08/02/2013

Jindal's office too has weighed in. i though he was catholic? the catholic church strenuously opposes all executions. i guess he is a right wing republican first, and a christian second. tends to be the way. for further evidence, read the first 15 posts.

5) Comment by jedleland - 08/02/2013

america is the only developed country that executes, and europe wont even send wanted prisoners back here for capitol cases. but its also got by far far the most murders and violent crime. so much for a deterrent. its been said that you can measure the civilisation of a country by how it treats its prisoners. the only places that execute more than us are the regimes of china and iran. great!

6) Comment by jedleland - 08/02/2013

its an amazing story - and not as uncommon as you might think. here it is again: In Minnesota, a young man was murdered and his killer was sent to prison. Then, as CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman reports, the story took a surprising turn. In a small apartment building in North Minneapolis - a 59-year-old teacher's aid sings praise to God for no seemingly apparent reason. Indeed, if anyone was to have issues with the Lord, it would be Mary Johnson. In February 1993, Mary's son, Laramiun Byrd, was shot to death during an argument at a party. He was 20, and Mary's only child. "My son was gone," she says. The killer was a 16-year-old kid named Oshea Israel. Mary wanted justice. "He was an animal. He deserved to be caged." And he was. Tried as an adult and sentenced to 25 and a half years -- Oshea served 17 before being recently released. He now lives back in the old neighborhood - next door to Mary. How a convicted murder ended-up living a door jamb away from his victim's mother is a story, not of horrible misfortune, as you might expect - but of remarkable mercy. A few years ago Mary asked if she could meet Oshea at Minnesota's Stillwater state prison. As a devout Christian, she felt compelled to see if there was some way, if somehow, she could forgive her son's killer. "I believe the first thing she said to me was, 'Look, you don't know me. I don't know you. Let's just start with right now,'" Oshea says. "And I was befuddled myself." Oshea says they met regularly after that. When he got out, she introduced him to her landlord - who with Mary's blessing, invited Oshea to move into the building. Today they don't just live close - they are close. Mary was able to forgive. She credits God, of course - but also concedes a more selfish motive. "Unforgiveness is like cancer," Mary says. "It will eat you from the inside out. It's not about that other person, me forgiving him does not diminish what he's done. Yes, he murdered my son - but the forgiveness is for me. It's for me." For Oshea, it hasn't been that easy. "I haven't totally forgiven myself yet, I'm learning to forgive myself. And I'm still growing toward trying to forgive myself." To that end, Oshea is now busy proving himself to himself. He works at a recycling plant by day and goes to college by night. He says he's determined to payback Mary's clemency by contributing to society. In fact, he's already working on it - singing the praises of God and forgiveness at prisons, churches - to large audiences everywhere. "A conversation can take you a long way," Oshea says to one group. Which explains why Mary is able to sing her praise of thanks -- to her audience of one.

7) Comment by DMJ - 08/02/2013

Also, and I'm just thinking outside the box here....if we're trying to send the message that killing is wrong, maybe we should stop killing. What say you, Christians? What's that thing in the Bible....how's it go..... Oh yeah, "Thou shalt not kill unless the guy deserves it." Wait....that sounds wrong....

8) Comment by jedleland - 08/02/2013

of course if you dont claim to be a christian then none of that applies anyway so just ignore. all those guys on that list, and who knows how many more, were 'killers' too, undeserving of defense lest we forget the suffering of their victims. except, there were no victims. why would they cut me up? they didnt cut anyone up. they were wrong place wrong timers. it happens.

9) Comment by jedleland - 08/02/2013

im sure this guy did it and he'll spend the rest of his days in a small cell whatever happens. ive been on death row at angola and its no boy scouts camp. imagine living in your bathroom for the rest of your life alone. but its not about rights its about what so called christians pretend to be and what they really are. im not one so i dont care, but most pretend to be, and then go and ignore all the rules they find inconvenient. thats why i posted Matthew 5. go read it and then tell me any of these bloodlusting keyboard toughguys are real christians. i posted a story the other day about a mother who forgave her sons killer and now lives next door to him, and is helping him out after he got out of jail, and they travel around together talking to families of victims, and school kids and that sort of thing. that old lady did what she thought she had to do - she gave up hating, embraced forgiveness, showed mercy, and walked the walk. and this guy killed her son, not some kid she never even met. thats real courage there. what about the clowns posting here today? is that what Jesus wants? i dont care if some keyboard toughguy joker wants to be the one who pulls the trigger or not. just dont spout that garbage then go to your church on sunday and act all pious. its not easy to walk the walk, but talk is cheap. do you tihik the creator of your ubniverse doesnt recognize a total phony just cause of an internet username?

10) Comment by Hello Baton Rouge - 08/02/2013

jedleland, you forgot one name, that's the name of the 6 year old this guy was convicted of killing, or are you one of those softies that cares more about the rights of a killer than the CHILD they killed? Aw, you are aren't you. How pathetic. I hope one day one of the guys on that list doesn't break into your home and cut you up into little pieces. It would be ashame if you weren't there at their murder trial to curse those who were attempting to bring him to justice. Stop defending killers.

11) Comment by jedleland - 08/02/2013

Notice the next to last name Damon Thibodeau from right here in Louisiana. He spent 15 years for a murder he had nothing to do with. Shame cause according to a few nonchristians here, he was 14 years passed his proposed appeal date and would have had a bullet in his head by one our resident keyboard hardmen. when his case came up for appeal the comments below that headline were equally dumb and vitriolic. yet he won and is a justly free man. dont take much to call yourself a christain these days does it? WWJD

12) Comment by jedleland - 08/02/2013

A lot of names, right? Thats all the people so far that have been released from death row after being exonerated. All of them waited longer than a year, some of them over 20 years. who knows how many people did not get the second chance and went to the chair innocent. is that what your god teaches you? Is that Jesus' idea of mercy and forgiveness? Is that what we are taught in Matthew 5? That the gleeful killing of convicted men is a christain action? dont think so. What a bunch of cr@ppy christians!

13) Comment by jedleland - 08/02/2013

• 1.Willie Roberson, Olen Montgomery, Eugene Williams, and Roy Wright Alabama. 1. David Keaton Florida (Keaton v. State, 273 So.2d 385 (1973)). Convicted 1971.2. Samuel A. Poole North Carolina (State v. Poole, 203 S.E.2d 786 (N.C. 1974)). Convicted 1973.3. Wilbert Lee Florida (Pitts v. State 247 So.2d 53 (Fla. 1971), overturned and released by pardon in 1975). Convicted 1963. • 4. Freddie Pitts Florida (Pitts v. State 247 So.2d 53 (Fla. 1971), overturned and released by pardon in 1975). Convicted 1965. • 5. James Creamer Georgia (Emmett v. Ricketts, 397 F. Supp 1025 (N.D. Ga. 1975)). Convicted 1973. • 6. Christopher Spicer North Carolina (State v. Spicer, 204 SE 2d 641 (1974)). Convicted 1973. • 7. Clarence Norris Alabama. Convicted 1931. • 8. Thomas Gladish New Mexico. Convicted 1974. • 9. Richard Greer New Mexico. Convicted 1974. • 10. Ronald Keine New Mexico. Convicted 1974. • 11. Clarence Smith New Mexico. Convicted 1974. • 11. Delbert Tibbs Florida. Convicted 1974. • 12. Earl Charles Georgia. Convicted 1975. • 13. Jonathan Treadway Arizona. Convicted 1975. • 14. Gary Beeman Ohio. Convicted 1976. 15. Jerry Banks. • 16. Larry Hicks. • 17. Charles Ray Giddens. • 18. Michael Linder. • 19. Johnny Ross. • 20. Ernest (Shuhaa) Graham. • 21. Annibal Jaramillo. • 22. Lawyer Johnson Massachusetts (Commonwealth v. Johnson, 429 N.E.2d 726 (1982)). Convicted 1971. • 23. Larry Fisher. • 24. Anthony Brown. • 25. Neil Ferber. • 26. Clifford Henry Bowen. • 27. Joseph Green Brown. • 28. Perry Cobb. • 29. Darby (Williams) Tillis. • 30. Vernon McManus. • 31. Anthony Ray Peek. • 32. Juan Ramos. • 33. Robert Wallace. • 34. Richard Neal Jones. • 35. Willie Brown. • 36. Larry Troy. • 37. Randall Dale Adams Texas (Ex Parte Adams, 768 S.W.2d 281) (Tex. Crim App. 1989). Convicted 1977.[3][4] • 38. Robert Cox. • 39. James Richardson. • 40. Clarence Brandley Texas (Ex Parte Brandley, 781 S.W.2d 886 (Tex. Crim App. 1989). Convicted 1981. • 41. John C. Skelton. • 42. Dale Johnston. • 43. Jimmy Lee Mathers. • 44. Gary Nelson. • 45. Bradley P. Scott. • 46. Charles Smith. • 47. Jay C. Smith Pennsylvania. Convicted 1986. • 48. Kirk Bloodsworth Maryland. Convicted 1984. Exonerated 1993; first prisoner to be exonerated by DNA evidence. Serving life in prison when exonerated, as earlier death sentence was overturned. • 49. Federico M. Macias. • 50. Walter McMillan. • 51. Gregory R. Wilhoit Oklahoma. Convicted 1987. 52. James Robison. • 53. Muneer Deeb. • 54. Andrew Golden. • 55. Adolph Munson. • 56. Robert Charles Cruz. • 57. Rolando Cruz. • 58. Alejandro Hernández. • 59. Sabrina Butler. • 60. Joseph Burrows. 61. Verneal Jimerson. • 62. Dennis Williams. • 63. Roberto Miranda. • 64. Gary Gauger • 65. Troy Lee Jones. • 66. Carl Lawson. • 67. David Wayne Grannis. • 68. Ricardo Aldape Guerra. • 69. Benjamin Harris. • 70. Robert Hayes. • 71. Christopher McCrimmon. • 72. Randall Padgett. • 73. Robert Lee Miller, Jr. • 74. Curtis Kyles. • 75. Shareef Cousin Louisiana (Louisiana v. Cousin, 710 So. 2d 1065 (1998)). Convicted 1996. • 76. Anthony Porter Illinois. Convicted 1983. • 77. Steven Smith. • 78. Ronald Williamson Oklahoma. Convicted 1988. 79. Ronald Jones. • 80. Clarence Dexter, Jr. • 81. Warren Douglas Manning. • 82. Alfred Rivera. • 83. Steve Manning. • 84. Eric Clemmons. • 85. Joseph Nahume Green. • 86. Earl Washington Virginia (pardoned). Convicted 1994 (1984, without life sentence). • 87. William Nieves. • 88. Frank Lee Smith (died prior to exoneration). • 89. Michael Graham. • 90. Albert Burrell. • 91. Oscar Lee Morris. • 92. Peter Limone. • 93. Gary Drinkard. • 94. Joachin José Martínez. • 95. Jeremy Sheets. • 96. Charles Fain. • 97. Juan Roberto Melendez-Colon Florida. Convicted 1984. • 98. Ray Krone Arizona (State v. Krone, 897 P.2d 621 (Ariz. 1995) (en banc)). Convicted 1992. • 99. Thomas Kimbell, Jr. • 100. Larry Osborne. • 101. Aaron Patterson. • 102. Madison Hobley. • 103. Leroy Orange. • 104. Stanley Howard. • 105. Rudolph Holton. • 106. Lemuel Prion. • 107. Wesley Quick. • 108. John Thompson. • 109. Timothy Howard Ohio. Convicted 1976. • 110. Gary Lamar James Ohio. Convicted 1976. • 111. Joseph Amrine. • 112. Nicholas Yarris Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania v. Yarris, No 690-OF1982, Court of Common Pleas, Delaware County, September 3, 2003. Order vacating conviction). Convicted 1982. • 113. Alan Gell. • 114. Gordon Steidl. • 115. Laurence Adams. • 116. Dan L. Bright. • 117. Ryan Matthews. • 118. Ernest Ray Willis. • 119. Derrick Jamison. • 120. Harold Wilson. • 121. John Ballard. • 122. Curtis McCarty. • 123. Michael McCormick. • 124. Jonathon Hoffman. • 125. Kennedy Brewer Mississippi. Convicted 1995. • 126. Glen Edward Chapman North Carolina. Convicted 1995. • 127. Levon "Bo" Jones[6] North Carolina. Convicted 1993. • 128. Michael Blair Texas. • 129. Nathson Fields Illinois. Convicted 1986. • 130. Paul House Tennessee. Convicted 1986. • 131. Daniel Wade Moore Alabama. Convicted 2002. • 132. Ronald Kitchen Illinois. Convicted 1988. • 133. Herman Lindsey Florida. Convicted 2006. • 134. Michael Toney Texas. Convicted 1999. (Toney later died in a car accident on October 3, 2009, just one month and a day after his exoneration.).[7] • 135. Yancy Douglas Oklahoma. Convicted 1997. • 136. Paris Powell Oklahoma. Convicted 1997. • 137. Robert Springsteen Texas. Convicted 2001. • 138. Joe D'Ambrosio Ohio. Convicted 1989139. Anthony Graves Texas. Convicted 1994. • 140. Gussie Vann Tennessee. Convicted 1994. • 141. Damon Thibodeaux Louisiana. Convicted 1997. • 142. Seth Penalver Florida. Convicted 1994.

14) Comment by jedleland - 08/02/2013

Matthew 5:7

15) Comment by mh1949 - 08/02/2013

Wouldn't it have been a blessing if someone could have called off the execution of that 6 yr. old ? And for those that believe the ***** that it costs more to execute someone than care for them for life I have some oceanfront property in Arizona to sell you. Try,sentence, 1 yr. for appeal and new trial if needed, then nighty nite.

16) Comment by foldgers - 08/02/2013

whatchange, not trying to argue here, as I would love to pull the trigger myself on this guy, but it is a right granted by the constitution that he gets to defend himself and someone has to do it, otherwise, what is the point of due process? And DMJ, I am glad to see you are pro death penalty! Made my day! :) But, I did hear a while back, and just heard from a pretty dependable source in this area, that it is more expensive to execute someone than to house them in prison for life. The reason being all the paperwork and processes and appeals and courts hearing and blah blah. Some reports say on average it costs about 10x more to execute someone than to house them for life in prison. Weird, but I do believe it is true. Either way, I am still pro death penalty.

17) Comment by Bouncer - 08/02/2013

Meant to say "could HAVE instructed....." Sorry.

18) Comment by Bouncer - 08/02/2013

Death is a release only for the terminally ill who suffer and are in agony. These incarcerated murderers, on the other hand, cling to life tenaciously. Otherwise, Sepulvado could had instructed his lawyers to not file for a stay. No, he wants to live, which is exactly what he should not be allowed to do.

19) Comment by jdk944 - 08/02/2013

@DMJ, if he had been executed expediently, it would have saved a lot. Plus how much will be spent to house him from this point forward if he were sentence to life without parole??

20) Comment by Whatchange - 08/02/2013

And yet another lawyer steps in to protect the guilty.

21) Comment by Bighug - 08/02/2013

What's next? Maybe the judge would like to see shipping papers, receipts, lab analyses, administering physician's diploma, see that the 'do not remove this notice under penalty of law' tag is still on the mattress the murderer will lie on, etc. If the guy was going to be hung, the judge would probably ask for certification that the sisal used to make the rope was organically grown.

22) Comment by DMJ - 08/02/2013

Here's what I don't get about death penalty proponency: after spending 19 years in prison, wouldn't death be a sweet release? Seems much worse to me to sit and rot in a cell until dead. Plus, how much money would the state have saved in the process?

23) Comment by foldgers - 08/02/2013

Didn't Dr. Kevorkian devise a painless way to kill people who wanted to die? Just use that method. Use it 5 YEARS AGO on this animal. Who could beat and scald a kid to death? An animal! Who cares if he suffers??? Jeez. A bullet to the head would be painless. Give him a bunch of xanex or something. And we wonder why we have such a bad murder problem in this country. They get to kill and not worry about being killed in return. Times like this, I wished I lived in Texas.

24) Comment by tball - 08/02/2013

Judge Brady, do you know that once this thug is put to death, he will never take another life??? This statistic is 100% guarantee!!

25) Comment by tradewinns - 08/02/2013

this judge needs to be disciplined. the supreme court of the US has already ruled that the death penalty does NOT have to be painless. so bringing up the same question is a waste of time, money and emotions for the family of the victim. reduce the judges pay by whatever amount of taxpayers money was wasted on this. appeal the stay and get on with the execution.

26) Comment by louisisanared - 08/02/2013

Thank you Judge Brady, now we will never execute anyone. Criminals now you have the green light!!!

27) Comment by slye753 - 08/02/2013

after 11 years, we have spent enough money on this scum. who cares if he suffers before his last breath after what he did.

28) Comment by firefly225 - 07/02/2013

"The Tuesday hearing was held for Sepulvado’s attorneys to express concerns about the three-chemical formula possibly causing an agonizing death." Sepulvado sure didn't show concern if the BEATING AND SCALDING of a 6 yo was an agonizing death. Why should people like this have "rights"? I could never be a defense attorney. They sicken me.