Alert from People of Faith Against the Death Penalty


The State of North Carolina has decided not to appeal the stay of
execution of George Page, scheduled for execution at 2 a.m., Friday,
February 26, 2004. The stay was issued by Federal District Court Judge
Terrance Boyle on grounds that lethal injection in this case would be
cruel and unusual punishment.

Congratulations to George Page, his legal team, and all those who took
action to stop this execution!

Let us pray there will no more executions.

Praise the Lord!

Here is another article about it.

softie

Stay issued for inmate scheduled to be executed
Winston-Salem Journal By Estes Thompson
February 25, 2004

RALEIGH, N.C. - A judge ordered Wednesday that the execution of a convicted
cop-killer scheduled for this week be stopped while a defense argument
against execution is considered.

The stay was issued by Forsyth County Superior Court Judge Catherine Eagles
in the case of George Franklin Page. The judge scheduled a hearing for
Thursday morning.

Defense lawyers had asked that the execution be stopped after a
psychiatrist said her diagnosis could change.

Page is scheduled to be executed by injection at 2 a.m. Friday at Central
Prison in Raleigh.

Lawyers representing Page sought the stay of the execution on Monday,
citing a new affidavit from Dr. Nicole Wolfe, who testified at Page's 1996
trial.

Page was convicted of the shooting death of Officer Stephen Levi Amos in
Winston-Salem. Amos was shot Feb. 27, 1995, when he responded to a call at
Page's apartment complex.

The defense attorneys say that Wolfe was not provided with two CT scans
taken in 1994 that show "abnormal atrophy of the defendant's brain,"
according to one of the motions.

But the state said the 1994 CT scans were provided before Page's trial and
the issue can't be raised again. The issue could have been raised in Page's
original appeal, the state said.

In her affidavit, Wolfe said if she had been provided CT scans, she would
have recommended neuropsychological testing.

Assistant District Attorney Vince Rabil of Forsyth County said in an
affidavit accompanying the state's response that he obtained 1,047 pages of
Page's medical records for Wolfe.

Wolfe said in the affidavit that she found the scans when the prosecution
requested earlier this month that she examine medical records of Page. But
she said she is sure she never received the scans ahead of her original
testimony.

Page was moved Tuesday to the death watch area of Central Prison. Death
watch is a cellblock across a narrow hallway from the execution chamber.

I hope that the stay remains, and for once NC does the right thing with the people that have a mental illness. They have turned a blind eye on this issue for to long, and have executed many known inmates that have had mental retardation issues. Just the fact that the stay has not be overturned on the leathal injection issue is a good thing, as they may be closer to following New Jersey if this stay isnt overturned. Henry Hunts defense started the fight on these issues, and I am sure he, himslelf in spirit is helping the battle.