2 Requests to Halt Execution Denied
Both the state Supreme Court and a federal district judge declined requests Friday to halt the execution of two-time killer Robert Lee Massie.
Massie, scheduled to die early Tuesday, has given up his appeals and asked to be put to death. But others, including Northern California journalist Michael Kroll, are trying to stop the execution, contending that Massie is incompetent and his attorney, Frederick Baker, is providing ineffective counsel in going along with his client.
The state Supreme Court, directing its clerk not to accept a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, stated that the legal papers failed to demonstrate that Massie is incompetent or receiving ineffective representation.
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