Daily news from Louisville, Kentucky and Southern Indiana from courier-
journal.com
Home · News · Sports · Business · Features · Louisville Scene ·
Classifieds · Jobs · Cars · Homes · Marketplace · Contact Us ·
Search
Local/Regional » News Item Wednesday, November 13, 2002
Lawmakers urge commutation of Stanford's death sentence
By Andrew Wolfson
awolfson@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
Nine Kentucky lawmakers, including four from Louisville, have asked
Gov. Paul Patton to commute the death sentence of Kevin Stanford,
who was 17 in 1981 when he murdered gasstation attendant Baerbel
Poore in southwestern Jefferson County.
''Kevin Stanford did horrible things. . . . But what good does
killing him do? It doesn't bring Baerbel (Poore) back.''
Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville
In a Nov. 6 letter released yesterday, the legislators asked the
governor not to sign an execution warrant for Stanford, citing a
''national and international consensus against executing juvenile
offenders.''
The lawmakers, who include House Majority Leader Greg Stumbo,
D-Prestonsburg, mention Stanford's age at the time of the crime and
a poll that showed most Kentuckians support a sentence other than
death for juveniles who kill.
''Executing juvenile offenders is barbaric,'' said Rep. Mary Lou
Marzian, D-Louisville, who said the legislature instead should enact
a sentence of life without parole.
''Kevin Stanford did horrible things, and he should be locked up
forever. But what good does killing him do? It doesn't bring Baerbel
back.''
Having exhausted his appeals, Stanford, 39, has asked Patton to
reduce his sentence to something other than death. His attorneys,
Margaret O'Connell and Gail Robinson, filed the petition in
September; Patton asked the office of Attorney General Ben Chandler
to respond and is awaiting that report.
The lawmakers who signed the letter urging clemency are all
Democrats who co-sponsored or voted for unsuccessful legislation
last winter that would have barred the execution of offenders who
were 16 or 17 at the time of their crimes.
The other legislators who signed the letter were Sen. David Karem
and Reps. Reginald Meeks and Jim Wayne, all of Louisville; Reps.
John Adams, Hopkinsville; Joe Barrows, Versailles; Robin Webb,
Grayson; and Susan Westrom, Lexington.
In an interview, Marzian noted that the United States is one of the
few remaining countries that allows capital punishment for juvenile
offenders.
Stanford was convicted in 1982 of the sodomy, robbery and murder of
Poore, 20, who was the single mother of a 10month old daughter. An
accomplice, David Buchanan, who was convicted of rape, robbery and
murder, was sentenced to life in prison.
Dave Stengel, president of the Kentucky Association of
Commonwealth's Attorneys, said lawmakers have a right to express
their views to the governor but shouldn't hold any more sway than
private citizens.
Stengel, Jefferson County's commonwealth's attorney, said it is easy
to oppose the juvenile death penalty in theory but harder when
looking at the egregious facts of a particular crime.
''If there ever has been a poster boy for a heinous crime that
deserved the death penalty, Kevin Stanford is one of them,'' Stengel
said.
^^ Back to top
Subscribe!
Click here to get the C-J delivered to your door each morning.
Home · News · Sports · Business · Features · Louisville Scene
· Classifieds · Jobs · Cars · Homes · Marketplace · Contact Us
· Search
Copyright 2002 The Courier-Journal.
Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service (updated
8/7/2001).
Send questions and comments to The Webmaster.
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted