Kernan extends 60-day reprieve

INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Joe Kernan extended a stay of execution for Darnell Williams on Tuesday because DNA tests on blood evidence in the case have not been completed.\nA 60-day reprieve ordered by the late Gov. Frank O'Bannon was to expire Wednesday, but the laboratory performing the tests has indicated that results might not be available until late November. Because of that, Kernan extended the reprieve until Dec. 1.\n"At that time, I will reassess the situation and determine whether it is appropriate to ask the attorney general to seek a new execution date or whether other action is appropriate," Kernan said in a statement issued by his office.\nWilliams had been scheduled to be executed Aug. 1 but O'Bannon granted a reprieve so DNA tests could be conducted. His attorneys contend the results might cast doubt on Williams' role in the 1986 murders of a Gary couple.\nThe Indiana Supreme Court and the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have ruled that other evidence in the case would have led to the death sentence.\nBut the prosecutor who tried Williams supported the DNA testing, and two Indiana Supreme Court justices stated they would support a new sentencing hearing if the results show that blood found on Williams' clothing was not from the victims.\n"These circumstances make this case highly unusual and justify delaying the execution for the purposes of testing," Kernan said.