What to do with a pardoned inmate who wants to die? This is the same question riddling Oregon's top judiciaries over an ongoing lawsuit against the state's governor.

An inmate on death-row wants his sentence carried out. The 50-year-old man is asking the Oregon Supreme Court to consider his plea despite a pardon and a temporary moratorium already issued by Governor Kitzhaber in 2011. The criminal appeals issue comes into light after recent discussions and a possible 2014 vote on whether to continue instituting the state’s capital punishment law.

The governor is a staunch opponent of the death penalty due mainly to moral grounds. The decision to suspend death penalty in Oregon is seen as a calculated move to permanently put an end to capital punishment in the state. It is noted that Oregon is one of many states in the process of considering repeal of capital penalties. Maryland recently voted against it and Delaware is also seen as the next state to make their repeal official.

Gary Haugen, who is serving time for an aggravated assault conviction, the only criminal charge punishable by death in the state, appeared before the judges in nearby Eugene. Haugen, who was expected to be hanged in 2011 has since sued the state after his reprieve. His team argues that he should be allowed to accept or reject a pardon. They cited a long standing endorsement by the high court, outlined in an 1833 U.S. Supreme Court case, that a clemency is only valid if accepted by an inmate.

The team representing Governor Kitzhaber argues that the governor’s power to issue clemency is absolute and that rejecting it will require an overhaul of the state’s constitution as well as giving more power to Haugen. By constitution, an individual doesn't possess the power to force his government to execute him if that isn't what his government wants to do

The suit is putting the Supreme Court in a precarious spot. The court is weighing what impacts a decision will make in such a matter as there is no precedent for it. Often reluctant, they are considering if they are violating separation of powers between the justices and the governor when questions about the Kitzhaber’s motives were asked.

The governor is a staunch opponent of the death penalty due mainly to moral grounds. The decision to suspend death penalty in Oregon is seen as a calculated move to permanently put an end to capital punishment in the state. It is noted that Oregon is one of many states in the process of considering repeal of capital penalties. Maryland recently voted against it and Delaware is also seen as the next state to make their repeal official.

The issue is expected to take months before an opinion by the high court can be given in the case and a vote is expected in 2014 for the repeal of Oregon’s death penalty law.

 

More on Gary Haugen - Death row inmate Gary Haugen moves a step closer to execution

2011 OPB interview with Gary Haugen

 

Keywords: death penalty repeal, Supreme Court decision, inmate Gary Haugen, moral grounds of death penalty