San Diego
Robert Alton Harris’ San Diego attorneys formally asked the state Supreme Court on Wednesday to delay Harris’ execution, now scheduled for April 3, while the court considers a new appeal.
In asking for a postponement, lawyers Charles M. Sevilla and Michael McCabe said they wanted the court to be able to consider the appeal without time pressure. Without a delay, they said, they fear that the court, which set a March 12 deadline for the filing of legal papers in the appeal, will rush its decision.
Harris, 37, convicted in 1978 of the murders of two teen-age San Diego boys, is in line to become the first person executed in California in 23 years.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a broad challenge to Harris’ death sentence, the fourth time it has turned down a Harris appeal. The California Supreme Court upheld Harris’ death sentence in 1981.
Shortly before the U.S. Supreme Court rejection, the two defense attorneys filed the new appeal with the California Supreme Court, contending in part that it would be cruel and unusual punishment to execute Harris because he has changed for the better in prison.
In a brief filed last week, the state attorney general’s office characterized the new appeal as nothing more than a collection of old claims and said Harris should die as scheduled.
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