Execution Blocked as Killer Agrees to Appeal

The state Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked the scheduled Dec. 3 execution of Ronald Lee Deere after the condemned slayer, in an apparent change of heart, agreed to an appeal in his behalf to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The state high court, in a brief order signed by all seven justices, granted an indefinite stay of execution pending the outcome of the appeal in the federal high court.

Such actions by the state court are routine in capital cases, but Deere’s case is unusual because he previously had opposed several legal attempts to spare his life. Had he continued to resist appeals, Deere could have become the first person executed in California since 1967.

State prosecutors had previously urged the justices to deny a stay of execution for Deere, saying that once a sentence has been upheld by the state Supreme Court there was no valid legal reason to prevent a mentally competent prisoner from willingly accepting the death penalty.

However, in a letter filed last week with the state high court, attorney Robert R. Bryan said Deere had declared his “complete willingness” to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Final action on that appeal is not expected until early next year. If the appeal is rejected, Deere could choose to file a constitutional challenge to his conviction and sentence in the federal courts, as is routinely done by other condemned inmates.

State Deputy Atty. Gen. Louis R. Hanoian said no effort would be made to contest Wednesday’s order.

“Everything we were aware of previously pointed in the direction of Deere wanting to volunteer (for the death penalty),” Hanoian said. “It’s pretty clear he now wants to go ahead with the appeal.”

Bryan welcomed Wednesday’s action but acknowledged that the odds of winning an appeal from the U.S. Supreme Court are slender. He declined to comment on the prospect of further appeals in federal courts.

“Death Row is a terrible place for people to languish,” Bryan said. “As with any client, it’s unwise to predict what might happen in the future.”

Deere, 38, was sentenced to death for the murders of Donald L. Davis and Davis’ two daughters, Michelle, 7, and Melissa, 2, in Blythe in March, 1982. Deere pleaded guilty at his trial and resisted efforts by his attorneys to help him escape the death penalty, saying at one point he deserved to die for his crimes.

The state Supreme Court, required to review all death sentences through an automatic appeal process, upheld Deere’s sentence in May. One month later, the justices turned down another appeal filed in his behalf by attorney Bryan.

As is customary, a Riverside County Superior Court judge set an execution date of Dec. 3, and Bryan asked for a stay from the state high court to allow for time to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

However, state Deputy Atty. Gen. Frederick R. Millar opposed the request, saying that while a stay was ordinarily expected, the “unique circumstances” of Deere’s case called for denial of Bryan’s request.

Deere had been forced by the automatic appeal process to wait nine years for resolution of the case, Millar noted in a letter to the court, and “the public and the family of the victims have been waiting equally long.”

Bryan countered with a new letter, dated Oct. 10, saying that Deere wanted to file the appeal with the federal high court. The lawyer attached a court declaration by Deere asking for a waiver of Supreme Court fees because of indigence. The declaration was signed “Ronald Lee Deere,” and “Running Deer,” another name used by the Sioux and Choctaw Indian.

Wednesday’s order leaves another condemned killer, Robert Alton Harris, as the most immediate likely candidate for the gas chamber. The case of Harris, the most advanced capital case in the state, currently is before the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.