Attorneys for Killer Press Governor for Clemency

Attorneys for condemned murderer Thomas Thompson met for two hours Tuesday with Gov. Pete Wilson and Wilson’s legal aides hoping to persuade the governor that the death row inmate does not deserve to be executed Aug. 5 as scheduled.

Orange County Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi also was present at the closed-door meeting.

“We’re optimistic,” Capizzi said after the meeting. “The evidence of guilt is strong, overwhelming.”

Quin Denvir, Thompson’s lead defense attorney, declined to comment on any details of the meeting, saying Wilson had requested that the lawyers not discuss it.

In recent months, Denvir has filed a flurry of appeals, claiming in the latest that newly uncovered evidence casts serious doubt on Thompson’s conviction for rape in connection with the 1981 murder of a woman in Laguna Beach.

A federal judge who also had questions about the rape conviction once overturned Thompson’s death sentence. But he was overruled by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

After meeting with the attorneys Tuesday, Wilson aides said the governor spent several hours Tuesday afternoon and evening reading the court file on Thompson’s case.

Wilson declined to speculate on how he might rule on Thompson’s clemency petition. Asked if it was a clear-cut decision, he said: “I will not render an opinion on that” until after reading the court file. Asked when he will likely rule on the pending clemency matter, he said, “As soon as I possibly can.”

Wilson also repeated his belief that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime. “I think there is no question some [potential killers] are in fact deterred.”