Nathan Dunlap - The Capital Punishment Controversy

As CNN examines the American capital punishment system in the new “Death Row Series”, the controversy surrounding Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper’s decision last year to spare the life of Nathan Dunlap, a convicted killer, has continued to attract attention.  Featured in the series, Dunlap was convicted of murdering four people and severely injuring a fifth in a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in 1993, was sentenced to death two years later, with an execution date of August 2013.  After 20 years, the decision came before the governor, with claims that the trial attorneys did not represent him properly as well as a diagnosis of severe bipolar disorder, and Hickenlooper granted a temporary reprieve.

An extremely popular official, Hickenlooper is now seen as vulnerable in his re-election bid this November. One of his opponents, Tom Tancredo has vowed to execute Dunlap should he win the election.  Another, Bob Beauprez, suggests that the governor is showing an ”unwillingness to make the tough call.”

The temporary reprieve has generated strong public outcry on the part of some of the victim’s families.  The problem with a temporary reprieve is that no one knows when it will be lifted.   “The justice system is broken,” says Bob Crowell,whose 17 year old daughter was among the victims.  Others are less certain of what the outcome should be.  Jody McNally Damore, mother of Colleen O’Connor, also a victim says, “putting him to death makes me queasy.  I don’t know why, but you have to wonder why he got so many years of appeals”.  

The governor consulted with prosecutors, defense attorneys as well as the victim’s families. In a statement after granting the temporary reprieve, which could be undone by a later governor, said that he “felt centered after making the decision – that this was respectful of the people of Colorado and their right to come to their own conclusions and be a part of that process.”

Hickenlooper intended to initiate a conversation with the people of Colorado about the death penalty, of which he has indicated his opposition.  However, some of the criticism related to the reprieve suggests that the governor has usurped the role of the jury and courts, as well as the wishes of the victim’s families.

 
The Colorado Constitution provides the power to grant clemency, to consider information that was not public about the case at the time of the trial.  It is probable that Dunlap’s mental illness, which was undiagnosed at the time, and the sworn statements of three of the jurors that they would not have voted for a death sentence had they known was considered.  Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger differs with this view, “The courts have made it abundantly clear this is a constitutional penalty to impose.”   The governor has suggested that if he is not re-elected, he could grant clemency to Dunlap, which would release him from the prison system into the general population.

 Some say that the fate of Nathan Dunlap is in the hands of the Colorado voters. The death penalty is the center of another case pending in Colorado, the trial of James Holmes, the Aurora theater shooter whose trial is slated to begin in November. Colorado is at the center of the debate on capital punishment, with approximately 47% of the population in favor of repealing the death penalty, in favor of life without parole, and 47% would not.  Where do you stand?

The Denver Post
CNN.com