June 03, 2004|By Julie Bykowicz | Julie Bykowicz,SUN STAFF
Two of convicted killer Steven Oken's legal efforts to halt his execution were rejected yesterday by a Baltimore County Circuit Court judge.
Judge John G. Turnbull II, who in April signed a warrant setting Oken's execution for later this month, sided with lawyers from the state in Oken's lawsuit questioning the constitutionality of lethal injection as a method of execution. The judge also denied Oken's request for an emergency hearing on a motion he had filed that claimed the Division of Correction does not administer lethal injections in the manner outlined by Maryland law.
Fred Warren Bennett, Oken's lawyer, said news of the judge's rulings did not surprise him. He said he will focus on the state's highest court in his effort to stop Oken's execution. He had asked the Maryland Court of Appeals on Tuesday to delay it.
"We are pleased that the proper forum, the Court of Appeals of Maryland, will now be able to rule on the important constitutional, statutory and legal issues on an expedited basis," Bennett said.
He said he hopes the court agrees to hear oral arguments before making its decision. Twice before, the Court of Appeals has halted Oken's execution because of pending appeals.
Oken's lawsuit says drugs used in an execution make the process akin to torture, thus violating the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Corrections officials have said they are satisfied that lethal injections have been conducted humanely.
In yesterday's order, Turnbull granted summary judgment to the state Division of Correction and the other defendants in the suit.
Maryland Assistant Attorney General Scott S. Oakley, who responded to Oken's suit, said he was pleased with yesterday's rulings.
"I think Judge Turnbull came to the correct legal result in the case," he said.
Baltimore County Deputy State's Attorney Stephen Bailey said he is hopeful that the Court of Appeals won't intervene before Oken's scheduled execution, set for the week of June 14.
"Even in death penalty cases, there comes a point in time when the appellate judges will say, `Enough is enough,' and that they can distinguish between issues with legitimate merit and those filed merely for the purpose of delay or staying the execution," he said.
Oken, now 42, was sentenced to death in 1991 for the rape and murder of 20-year-old White Marsh newlywed Dawn Marie Garvin. He also was convicted of murdering his sister-in-law, Patricia A. Hirt, in Maryland, and motel clerk Lori Ward in Maine.
Sun staff writer Jennifer McMenamin contributed to this article.
