Wilson Urged to Delay Hearing
A lawyer for condemned killer Robert Alton Harris on Friday asked Gov. Pete Wilson for a 30-day reprieve of Harris’ scheduled April 21 execution to allow more time to prepare for a clemency hearing.
Howard I. Friedman, the Los Angeles attorney who is to represent Harris at a hearing before Wilson on April 15, said the deadlines the governor has set for receiving written clemency material do not allow time for a fully informed decision and would pose manifest injustice.
Friedman, in a letter to Janice Rogers Brown, the governor’s legal affairs secretary, also objected to Wilson’s refusal to hear claims of new evidence or legal arguments already considered by the courts.
In a letter written Wednesday by Brown, Harris’ lawyers were told that all written material, witnesses’ statements and the text of oral arguments must be submitted to the governor by April 7. Friedman and San Diego Dist. Atty. Edwin Miller, representing the prosecution, were given one hour each to argue at the hearing.
No verbatim record of the proceedings will be made.
In his response, Friedman said the limits on argument were unreasonable and that the lack of a record would prevent the state Supreme Court from adequately reviewing the case if Wilson grants clemency.
A spokesman for Wilson said an answer will be sent privately to the attorney.
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