United Press International / Rick Halperin News

Appello di Amnesty International per fermare l�esecuzione di Terry Clark, minorenne all�epoca del delitto

 NEW MEXICO - Impending execution - Amnesty asks for halt to Clark execution

Amnesty International has asked New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson to stop the Nov. 6 execution of convicted child killer Terry Clark.

 Clark, 45, would be the 1st person executed in the state since 1960, when David Cooper Nelson, accused of killing a California man who picked him up hitchhiking, was put to death in the gas chamber.

 He is scheduled to die by lethal injection for the 1986 murder of 9-year-old Dena Lyn Gore of Artesia, N.M.

 "Since New Mexico's last execution 41 years ago, 109 countries have stopped using the death penalty," said Michele Williams, Amnesty International's deputy director for the Western United States. "Just last year, the state of Illinois declared a moratorium on all executions, and a growing movement of concerned Americans is becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the unfair and arbitrary application of state- sponsored killing. This is not the time for New Mexico to take such a large and deadly step backwards."

 Clark has volunteered twice to be put to death and has twice changed his mind. In August, after a series of hearings, a court found Clark competent to drop his appeals.

 Clark's attorneys charge that his mental impairment and severe conditions in the penitentiary make him incapable of making such a decision.

 Johnson, R-N.M., has said he doesn't plan to interfere with Clark's execution.

 He also told reporters that he would not be swayed by a request for leniency from an envoy from Pope John Paul the Second. The U.S. Ambassador for the pope, Archbishop Gabriel Montalyo, wrote Johnson, "In the name of the Holy Father, I beseech you to spare the life of Terry Clark.

A meeting of Gov. Gary Johnson and civil rights leaders on Monday failed to halt next week's scheduled execution of Terry Clark, who could become the 1st convicted killer executed by New Mexico in more than 40 years.

Clark, 45, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Nov. 6 for the murder of Dena Lynn Gore of Artesia, who was abducted while riding her bike, sexually assaulted and then shot 3 times in the head before being buried in a shallow grave on a nearby ranch.

Clark would be the 1st convicted killer executed by the state of New Mexico since 1960. There are only 4 men on the state's death row. An ACLU official and a Catholic priest met with Johnson to request clemency for Clark despite Johnson's statements in the past that he would not consider it in this particular case.

Diane Kinderwater, the governor's spokeswoman, said Johnson has concerns with the death penalty as administered in New Mexico, but he has no doubt about Clark's guilt.

"Governor Johnson said clearly Terry Clark has committed a crime. He pleaded guilty to murdering a 9-year-old New Mexican girl. He is guilty of rape and murder. The courts have sentenced him to death and the state of New Mexico will carry out that sentence as required by law," she said after the meeting.

The delegation of civil rights leaders included Peter Simonson, executive director of ACLU-New Mexico, and the Rev. Domingo Gumpal, a Roman Catholic priest.

"He (the governor) agreed that the death sentence was poor public policy, but nevertheless he was convinced that Terry Clark was indeed guilty and deserved the punishment that he had been assessed," said Simonson.

In the past Johnson has said the death penalty in New Mexico as administered now is not a deterrent to crime because it is "not sure or swift."

The ACLU official said the execution would have "widespread repercussions" for New Mexico because it would probably lead to more death penalty prosecutions and eventually the same kinds of errors and abuses that have occurred in other death penalty states.

Simonson said only the governor can stop Clark's execution now.

New Mexico is one of 14 states in which the governor has the sole authority to approve clemency. Clemency could come in the form of a full pardon, commutation of the sentence, conditional release or pardon. The ACLU requested commutation to life in prison.

After his conviction, Clark confessed to the crime, according to a jail chaplain. He later asked his attorney to drop all his appeals.

New Mexico has executed seven people since 1933, but none since 1960.

The New Mexico Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Amnesty International and Pope John Paul II have also asked Johnson to approve clemency for Clark.