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Daily Mail
February 16, 2014
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has indefinitely delayed the execution of convicted killer Nathan Dunlap, saying that he had doubts about the death penalty, much to the dismay of victims’ families and a furious district attorney.
Hickenlooper, a Democrat, said he had doubts about the fairness of Colorado’s death penalty system and about the state’s ability to get the lethal drugs required for an execution.
Dunlap, 38, is one of three men on the state’s death row. He was sentenced to death in 1996, but the victims’ families say they have been waiting for justice to be carried out for nearly 20 years.
Republicans have derided Hickenlooper’s decision as no decision at all, with Attorney General John Suthers saying the reprieve guaranteed ‘continued suffering and delayed justice’ for families of Dunlap’s victims.
‘He took a coward’s way out,’ said Melinda Cromar, whose 19-year-old sister Sylvia Crowell was among those killed by Dunlap. ‘I am just so angry.’
A ‘very disappointed’ Bob Crowell, whose 19-year-old daughter Sylvia was killed by Dunlap, said he didn’t think there would ever be total closure in the case, but believed the execution could have demonstrated to other criminals that ‘they will pay the price with their lives if they perform an act like that in the state of Colorado.’
‘This whole scenario of having to make us wait… it’s like having a knife stuck in your back every time somebody says or does something,’ he told ABCNews.com.
‘Today was the trump of all of that when the governor refused to carry out the execution, or refused to let it happen.’
‘The majority of the families really did feel that they would get closure from an execution. There were some that expressed gratitude and even some form of relief, [but] I think the majority were disappointed,’ Hickenlooper said at a news conference.
Dunlap, 38, was convicted and sentenced to die in 1996 for the ambush slayings of Crowell and three others in a Denver-area restaurant.
Hickenlooper’s action essentially guarantees Dunlap will survive through Jan. 13, 2015, the last day of Hickenlooper’s first term.
Hickenlooper plans to run for re-election, and the reprieve is sure to be a campaign issue.
Dunlap, whose execution was scheduled for the week of Aug. 18, had requested clemency, which would have removed the possibility of execution and changed his sentence to life without parole.
Dunlap could conceivably be executed one day if a Colorado governor lifts the reprieve.
Hickenlooper’s announcement frustrated and angered the current top prosecutor in the district where Dunlap was convicted.
‘He could have made a decision I disagreed with. He could have made a decision I agreed with. But to not make a decision is an injustice,’ District Attorney George Brauchler said.
‘One person will go to bed with a smile on his face, and that’s Nathan Dunlap, and that’s due to one person,’ Brauchler said.
Madeline Cohen, one of Dunlap’s attorneys, expressed relief.
‘I’m very, very glad that the governor has decided not to go forward and has recognized how many problems there are in the system,’ she said.
Hickenlooper said he considered the decision carefully.
