Daniels faces clemency decisions

EVANSVILLE -- The state could execute nearly as many prisoners during Gov. Mitch Daniels' first year in office as it has during the entire past decade, giving the new governor and his general counsel plenty to ponder in the weeks and months ahead.\nEight of the 34 inmates on Indiana's death row could be executed this year, possibly beginning March 10 with Donald Ray Wallace Jr. of Evansville, Daniels' general counsel Steve Schultz and other legal sources told The Evansville Courier & Press.\nUntil recently, Daniels had made few public comments about the death penalty, but in a recent interview with statehouse reporters, he acknowledged mixed feelings about the issue.\n"If I said I had no reservations or conflicting sentiments, I wouldn't be honest," Daniels said. "I believe, and it's clear the people of Indiana believe, that in the most heinous cases, this penalty is appropriate."\nSchultz declined to say whether any of the pending cases of Indiana death row inmates fall into the category of "most heinous."\nOne of the governor's concerns, he said, had to do with issues of guilt or innocence of the death row inmate.\n"We're working to put into place a procedure designed to ensure that there are no lingering questions of guilt," Schultz said.\nEarl Coleman, an attorney for the Indiana Parole Board, said the governor's office, public defenders and others involved in death penalty appeals have been discussing the potential for a significant number of death row inmates who may soon seek clemency.\nThe Indiana Supreme Court issued the execution order for Wallace in January. The Courier & Press reported Sunday that the court is expected to issue an execution order for a second prisoner early this week.\nWallace was convicted in 1982 of the shooting deaths of Patrick and Theresa Gilligan and their children, 5-year-old Lisa and 4-year-old Gregory, at the family's home.\nWallace exhausted his appeals late last year. Seven other death row inmates are now at or very near the final stages of their legal appeals, and unless the courts rule in their favor, execution orders are expected, said Paula Sites at the Indiana Public Defenders Council.\n"The bottleneck of cases is breaking," said Sites.\nIndiana has executed nine prisoners since 1994. The state's last execution was that of Joseph L. Trueblood in June 2003.\nThe clemency process requires an inmate to formally file a request, which then triggers a process of review by both the parole board and the governor's staff, said Coleman of the Parole Board.\nThat process will be skipped for Wallace, who last week signed a waiver giving up his right to seek clemency. Wallace also states that no one has the authority to seek clemency for him.\nDaniels, however, still could grant clemency for Wallace. By state law, the governor has the right to grant clemency to any prisoner, with or without a formal request.\nThe governor can grant the clemency until the moments before the execution occurs.\nDaniels' predecessor, Gov. Joe Kernan, commuted the death sentences of two inmates, Michael W. Daniels and Darnell Williams, to life in prison.