|
 Hickenlooper, a Democrat, said in a yet-to-be aired interview with
CNN that he could consider commuting the death sentence of Nathan
Dunlap, whose execution the governor indefinitely blocked last year,
if Republicans make it a campaign issue.
“If that (death penalty) becomes a political issue, in that context
within a campaign, obviously there’s a period of time between the
election and the end of the year where individuals can make
decisions, such as a governor can,” the governor told the CNN
interviewer. “I could give ... a full clemency.”
An audio recording of the interview was first posted by the
conservative news website Complete Colorado, which said it was
obtained under an open-records request.
Dunlap, 40, was set to be executed by lethal injection last year
before Hickenlooper intervened, granting the convicted quadruple
murderer an open-ended “temporary reprieve.”
Hickenlooper’s campaign spokesman, Eddie Stern, said in a statement
that the governor has no plans to revisit the issue.
“In this interview and in response to that specific line of
hypothetical questioning, he is discussing the legal options that
are provided in the state’s constitution,” he said, adding "No
matter what, Nathan Dunlap will die in prison."
The governor's Republican challenger, former congressman Bob
Beauprez, has vowed to sign Dunlap’s death warrant if he unseats
Hickenlooper.
The first-term governor is locked in a close race with Beauprez,
whose campaign has focused on assertions that Hickenlooper is a weak
leader unwilling to make tough decisions.
[to top of second column] |
Beauprez blasted the governor over his comments about Dunlap.
“It’s outrageous that now John Hickenlooper is threatening to give a
convicted mass murderer full clemency if people vote against him,”
he said in a statement.
Dunlap was convicted and sentenced to death in 1996 for shooting to
death four workers at a pizza restaurant where he had recently been
fired.
After exhausting all state and federal appeals, Dunlap’s lawyers
appealed to Hickenlooper to commute his death sentence to life
without parole, arguing that Dunlap suffers from bipolar disorder.
Hickenlooper instead issued the reprieve, leaving open the
possibility that his successor could allow the execution to go
forward.
Colorado has three inmates on death row, and the state has executed
just one inmate in 47 years.
(Reporting by Keith Coffman from Denver; Editing by Steve Gorman and
Eric Walsh)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
