Posted on 05/22/2013 9:48:39 PM PDT by beaversmom
DENVER — Gov. John Hickenlooper decided Wednesday to grant a reprieve to convicted killer Nathan Dunlap, who was set to be executed in August for killing four people at a Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurant.
The temporary reprieve comes in the form of an executive order signed by Hickenlooper. It will delay Dunalp’s execution indefinitely.
The reprieve can only be lifted with another executive order, and Hickenlooper said at a 2 p.m. news conference it’s highly unlikely he will revisit the issue again. That means it would be up to his successor to decide to stay the execution or allow it to resume.
“This weighed on me heavily for a year,” Hickenlooper said in explaining his decision to reporters. He spoke slowly and deliberately.
“I could not find the justice in making” a decision to allow Dunlap to die, he said.
Hickenlooper said he believes capital punishment is inequitable and added, “If the state has to take responsibility of executing someone, the system must be flawless.” He also noted the number of states in the US, and countries around the world, that have decided to outlaw capital punishment.
In an interview with FOX31 Denver after the press conference, Hickenlooper acknowledged being lobbied by death penalty opponents the world over — he got a phone call from Archbishop Desmond Tutu earlier this year — and being convinced that the death penalty is bad policy.
“If it’s not a deterrent, and if in many cases it’s not providing closure, and at the cost of a fortune to the state, why are we doing it?” Hickenlooper said.
This from a governor who, back in March, blocked legislation that sought to repeal Colorado’s death penalty outright. Hickenlooper, ever focused on process, said at the time that state had yet to weigh in on the issue.
In his Executive Order, he states that he believes his decision will continue the statewide discussion on the issue.
“This wasn’t the right thing to do, politically,” Hickenlooper said. “We’ve made a lot of people mad. But I tried to get all the information I could and immerse myself and really try to come to a place where this is the right decision, not just for me, but for Colorado.
“And I feel very centered in that. Long-term, I think this is the right decision for Colorado.”
Before the news conference, Hickenlooper met with families of Dunlap’s victims. He admitted that they were “disappointed” with his decision.
Immediately after Hickenlooper’s decision was made public, both sides of the capital punishment debate gave their opinions.
House Minority Leader Mark Waller released a statement calling Hickenlooper’s decision disappointing.
“It’s a failure in leadership that is illustrative of the Governor’s unwillingness to make the difficult decisions Coloradans expect him to make,” Waller said.
“The Governor’s executive order strips victims and their families of the justice they deserve. For twenty years, victims’ families have worked within our legal system to see justice delivered. The Governor’s reprieve does a disservice not only to the victims’ families, but also to the jurors who convicted Dunlap and to the people of Colorado.”
State Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, who is considering challenging Hickenlooper in 2014, also attended the governor’s press conference and criticized the decision afterward.
“This was the worst possible decision,” Brophy said. “t was completely gutless, another example of a lack of leadership from Gov. Hickenlooper. He puts this off to somebody else to solve this problem.”
Dunlap’s attorney’s sent a statement supporting Hickenlooper’s decision saying: “We agree with Governor Hickenlooper’s well-reasoned decision to grant Nathan Dunlap a reprieve and indefinitely stay his execution. There has been widespread and diverse support from hundreds of people and organizations in Colorado who support permanently commuting Nathan Dunlap’s sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.”
The Archbishop of Denver also gave a statement of support and went a step further saying now is the moment for Colorado to repeal the death penalty.
“When will Americans open their eyes to recognize that violence only begets violence? We who stood for the life of Nathan Dunlap should work together to end violence undertaken in our state, in the womb, and in our hearts,” Rev. Samuel J. Aquila wrote in a statement.
This is a disgrace. I feel so bad for the families. DemocRATS really don’t care about families so I can see why Gov. Chickenpoop did this.
Nathan Dunlap, Colorado death row no more
What a beautiful girl! I don’t know how parents survive that kind of loss. Chickenlooper seems to have as much conscience as Kermit Gosnell.
Thank you for that link truth_seeker. Found this from your Google search. I wish this interview had been longer:
Sole survivor in Nathan Dunlap shooting recounts experience
http://www.9news.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=335093&catid=222
I don't know either. I think I would have to check out. I really don't think I could handle it.
Yes. Even if I had to live, such a deep part of me would have also died, I don’t know how I’d carry on. Guess they have to literally take life one day at a time and think in terms of eternity. This decision by Chickenlooper had to be such a blow, maybe last straw.
What a coward this scum bag Hickenlooper is. As well as the scum turd killer who cowardly killed these poor people at the Chuck-E-Cheese. What a nightmare for the victims families. This is the reason why people feel so helpless and see the need to take justice into their own hands.
Justice delayed is justice denied. Perhaps he will get shived in General Population.
ChickenPooper lives up to his name...
Victim’s Mom: Chuck E. Cheese Killer Should Be Executed
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/05/14/victims-mom-chuck-e-cheese-killer-should-be-executed/
Hickenlooper thumbed his nose at her pleas.
Unless Hick-Looper pulls a Clinton, and commutes it fully to life as he leaves office.
“He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.”—Proverb 17:15
Kinda sounds like what you said.
Gungrabbers are soft on crime. If they had their way here a life sentence would not be allowed.
Recall Chickenlooper
Like Dan Maes?
God will do as He sees fit. By the way, He also frowns on those taking His name in vain.
May God judge Hickenlooper for choosing to side with the murderer.
Colorado... the satan state. No offense to the good people still there but it is true.
LLS
I see no reason to demand "flawless". This evil thug was certainly guilty of murder. The fact that we don't catch all murderers or that not all murderers leave enough evidence to get the death penalty is irrelevant to the reality that this particular murderer left enough evidence and a jury chose that penalty. Hickenlooper is disappointing.
So I’ve heard.
Except that I neither justified the wicked nor condemned the righteous though, right?
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