| Return To Wallace Fugate's CCADP Homepage |
SOUTHERN CENTER FOR HUMAN
RIGHTS
83 POPLAR STREET, N.W.,
ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303 (404) 688-1202 VOICE (404) 688-9440 FAX WWW.SCHR.ORG
PRESS RELEASE--Media
contact: Sara Totonchi (404) 688-1202 or (404) 314-2230 cell
United States District
Judge Clarence Cooper has scheduled a hearing for
9:30 tomorrow morning
in his courtroom on the 17th Floor of the Richard
Russell Building. This
hearing will be on the federal suit on lethal
injection that was filed
today.
In the wake of the Board
of Pardons and Paroles denial of clemency,
attorneys for Wallace
Fugate, a man scheduled to die at 7:00 on Wednesday
night, have filed a lawsuit
against Members of the Board.
The complaint filed this
afternoon in Fulton County Superior Court states
that the Georgia Board
of Pardons and Paroles violated the Georgia and
United States Constitutions
by refusing to commute the death sentence of
Wallace Fugate. The Board
considered information not disclosed to Mr.
Fugate, including allegations
of serious crimes. It considered
commutation of Mr. Fugate's
death sentence at the same time the Board and
its members were parties
in litigation trying to bring about Mr. Fugate's
execution. In addition
to that conflict of interest, the Board considered
commutation while in
the midst of scandals involving allegations of
influence peddling, obstruction
of justice, and other corruption by
Members of the Board,
its staff, and personnel in the office of the
Attorney General.
The Board's refusal to
disclose what material it relied on in making its
decision, and its consideration
and denial of Mr. Fugate's clemency
petition in these circumstances
violated Mr. Fugate's rights to due
process of law, to the
equal protection of the laws, and to a fair,
reliable and objective
determination of clemency, guaranteed by the
Constitutions of Georgia
and the United States, and has made Mr. Fugate
subject to cruel, unusual,
excessive and disproportionate punishment in
violation of those same
constitutions.
The Board of Pardons and
Paroles purported to consider commutation of Mr.
Fugate's death sentence
on 2 occasions. The Board first denied clemency
on June 18, 2002, after
an "appointment" with supporters of clemency on
June 14. After the Board
denied clemency on June 18, Mr. Fugate sued the
Board and its members
arguing that the Board was not properly constituted
because it had only four
members as a result of resignations prompted by
the scandal. The Superior
Court of Fulton County found that the Board had
violated the Georgia
Constitution and enjoined the Department fo
Corrections from carrying
out Mr. Fugate's execution, then scheduled for
June 18.
The Board and its members
and the Department and its commissioner
appealed the Superior
Court's decision and asked the Georgia Supreme
Court to dissolve the
stay so that the Department of Corrections could
kill Mr. Fugate within
the "execution window" of June 18-25. The Georgia
Supreme Court denied
the motion to vacate the stay. Mr. Fugate filed a
cross appeal and the
Court set both cases for briefing.
Despite taking the position
that its denial of clemency was valid and
being involved in litigation
against Mr. Fugate with the objective of
bringing about Mr. Fugate's
death, the Board, upon the appointment of a
fifth member, purported
to "reconsider" commutation of Mr. Fugates death
sentence.
Mr. Fugate objected to
the Board considering commutation at the same time
it was advocating for
his execution in the Georgia Supreme Court. In
response, the Board,
its members and the other appellants filed a Notice
of Dismissal of Appeal
on July 10, 2002 in the Georgia Supreme Court, and
later asked the Court
to dismiss Mr. Fugates cross-appeal. The Georgia
Supreme Court dismissed
both appeals on July 26, 2002, and, on August 9,
denied Mr. Fugates motion
to reconsider and reinstate his cross appeal
over the dissents of
Chief Justice Fletcher, Presiding Justice Sears and
Justice Benham.
The failure of the Board
to afford Wallace Fugate a fair consideration of
commutation of his death
sentence will result in irreparable harm death
if the Department of
Corrections is allowed to proceed with his
execution. Therefore,
Mr. Fugate asks this Court to: (1) enjoin the
Department of Corrections
from executing him until this Court can conduct
an evidentiary hearing
and fully and fairly consider the grounds set out
in this Compliant; (2)
conduct an evidentiary hearing on the Boards
consideration of clemency
for Mr. Fugate; (3) order the Board to disclose
all information it has
relied on in considering clemency for Mr. Fugate;
(4) upon hearing and
briefing, declare that the consideration and denial
of his clemency petition
by the Board was in violation of the
Constitutions of Georgia
and United States Constitutions and, thus, null
and void; and (5) order
the Board to afford Mr. Fugate due process and
equal protection of the
laws in considering whether to commute his
sentence of death including,
but not limited to, disclosing to him all
information of any nature
the Board has received regarding and
considering commutation
with the Board is not operating under conflicts
of interest and extraneous
legal and political pressures.
Additionally, United States
District Judge Clarence Cooper has scheduled
a hearing for 9:30 tomorrow
morning in his courtroom on the 17th Floor of
the Richard Russell Building.
This hearing will be on the federal suit on
lethal injection that
was filed today.
For a copy of the complaint,
please contact Sara Totonchi at 404/688-1202 or stotonchi@schr.org
| Return To Wallace Fugate's CCADP Homepage |
