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Rick Bowmer / AP
Gary Haugen, 49, is brought into the Marion County Courthouse in Salem, Ore., on Oct. 7. He plans to ask lawyers about possible legal action to fight Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber's temporary reprieve.
A condemned inmate who was scheduled to be executed next month has slammed Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber for giving him a reprieve, saying the governor didn't have the guts to carry out the execution.
Two-time murderer Gary Haugen had voluntarily given up his legal challenges, saying he wants to be executed in protest of a criminal justice system he views as broken. But Kitzhaber on Tuesday said he won't allow anyone to be executed while he is in office, calling Oregon's death penalty scheme "compromised and inequitable."
But in a telephone interview with the Statesman Journal on Friday, Haugen mocked Kitzhaber.
"I feel he's a paper cowboy," he said. "He couldn't pull the trigger."
Haugen's criticism reverses his earlier praise of Kitzhaber's decision during an interview with The Oregonian. He told the Portland newspaper that Kitzhaber cited some of the same criticism of the death penalty that Haugen has raised.
'A coward's move'
After further reflection, Haugen said he came to the conclusion that the governor "basically pulled a coward's move" by acting on his personal beliefs instead of carrying out the will of Oregon voters, who reinstated the death penalty in 1984.
Haugen said he learned of the reprieve when he was summoned from an outdoor exercise break at the state penitentiary and allowed to read the governor's statement.
Kitzhaber called Oregon's death penalty system "a perversion of justice," saying the state only executes people who volunteer. Since capital punishment was legalized 27 years ago, only two people have been executed in Oregon. Both of them, like Haugen, waived their legal challenges.
Kitzhaber encouraged "all Oregonians to engage in the long overdue debate that this important issue deserves" and said he would ask lawmakers to consider potential reforms during the 2013 legislative session.
The 49-year-old inmate said he plans to ask lawyers about possible legal action to fight Kitzhaber's temporary reprieve, which lasts until the governor leaves office. A Marion County judge had twice signed a death warrant ordering Haugen's execution. The first was reversed when the state Supreme Court intervened; the second was overruled by Kitzhaber two weeks before the Dec. 6 execution.
"I'm going to have to get with some serious legal experts and figure out really if he can do this," Haugen said. "I think there's got to be some constitutional violations. Man, this is definitely cruel and unusual punishment. You don't bring a guy to the table twice and then just stop it."
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This scumwad reminds me of the Gary Gilmore case. Sooooo, give him what he wants, deserves.
Hmm...Gary Gilmore. Ever read The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer? This 1000+ page tome is a detailed account of Gilmore's life, his crimes and his skanky white trash girlfriend. It's a study in sociopathy. That is what these two people have in common. And the press, etc only feeds these people's malignant naricissism by focusing on them, their death sentences, whether the death penalty is good or not and on and on, blah, blah, blah, but the people who were murdered never seem to fit into the equation. I bet if their victims were high profile, rich/famous white dudes they'd have been executed already and it never would've dragged on. But when you're unlucky enough to be killed and be a nobody then your killer is the one who will capture all the limelight in this silly debate over "should we have the death penalty or not..." The POS killer is the one who gets their pix in the papers, gets books written about them, has their lives psychoanalyzed from afar by people who haven't even met them and so on. But the murdered, like I said, unless it's a rich and/or famous person, are all but forgotten in all this mental masturbation.
Kent, You mentioned that Gilmore's girlfriend was skanky and white trash, yet there was no condemnation of Gilmore in your post. Also, you think that the killers are executed swiftly only if the victim is white?? Look more closely at death row. It is full of people who murdered white people. The only one who seems to have been executed swiftly was Timothy McVeigh.
This scum wants to be freed. Stand by your guns Governor. Keep the bastard alive so he can suffer, and pay for his crimes.
That's the way. Now we need him on a road crew. For life.
thenewstoday,
"Simple give him a cyanide pill and let him swallow it."
Give him a cup of hemlock to drink like they did with Socrates. At least Socrates had the courage to drink it. Would this guy?
Socrates was a reactionary that tried to violently overthrow the Athenian democracy and replace it with a an oligarchy.
He also felt that reading and writing were an abomination.
When Socrates took the hemlock he didn't suffer enough.
Oregon needs to keep this bastard in jail and suffering as long as possible.
I figured there would be nonthinking execution supporters here who have so little imgination that they would give the scumbag what he wants, an out, even if it's thru death.
I say lock his ass up in 23 hour lock down for the rest of his natural life, so he can spend that time thinking about his life in a little concrete cage - and that is what he most fears, being some sad old half mad half senile forgotten relic whose entire existance will be some faded notation on some file that he died of old age, alone and forgotten. Not even remembered for a double murderer.
Jym Allyn,
"Socrates was a reactionary that tried to violently overthrow the Athenian democracy and replace it with a an oligarchy."
This is the first time I have ever heard that. Where did you get that idea from?
The death penalty in the U.S. is a joke. Life without parole is a much worse punishment. If they start to gain influence, put them in solitary for the rest of their lives. We should abolish the death penalty rather then giving the scum of the earth a better way out then we give our beloved suffering pets. Our system is not rehabilitative, it's punitive, and in my opinion, these guys get off way too easy.
Cyanide pill . Two above comments have suggested cyanide pill . Don't worry , in time he will get his cyanide pill . So will you and I .
Two years ago , while Congress was working on the Obama Care Bill . A long time friend ask my how old I was . I told him , and he replied "Your a dead man ", yes "your a dead man " I ask Roger , what are you talking about ? He ask me if I had read the Obama Care Bill yet ? I said No , I hadn't .
He told my , under Obama Care Bill , there is a end of life clause . When you get to a serenit age . They'll make you show that you can take care of yourself , otherwise they'll give you a Happy Pill (cyanide pill).
You'll go to sleep and never wake up .
So how old are you, and when do you expect you'll have to take your Happy Pill (cyanide pill )
No, I'm not that far off subject from the article . I hope I've made you think about what you've said .
Yes, let's keep paying the state $62,000 a year to keep him alive.
Ron 1137649 - I see you still haven't read the Health Care Reform bill, because the "end of life clause", as you and your so-called friend call it, is about medicare paying for end of life counseling, so families can plan on what to do in certain probable health outcomes due to age. It's basically going to pay doctors for helping families and individuals write living wills. It has nothing to do with "happy pills" or killing our seniors. Quit watching fox news and listening to other people who watch fox news.
Doesn't Oregon have voluntary assisted Euthanasia laws...here ya go!
Mr. Mike -682901
Are you sure about how it reads ? They're not going to write it like I've told it . We would be going to Washington , passing out happy pills today . May we all pray , my comment is a joke , and our nation never stoops that low .
Thank you for your reply . Now I know I've got one person to think . May my comment make other watch what is going on in Washington .
I've got a lot to do before they give me my happy pill .
Ron, hope we have a health care law to worry about. The republicans seem bent on eliminating anything that is good for everyday Americans.
You and obama know whats "good" for us?
Good or Bad is not the point you Progressive Liberal You, READ the dam bill before you put your name on it, there more than health Care in this Bill, you Can't make someone buy anything Jack, you can"t force anything either Jack, this fill good crap is wrong, that what wrong with this Great Nation we have Progressive Liberal an or Rhino's think they Know best an think there the smartest cookie in the bag your Theories has never work an it not working now or in the Future Quit destroying an dismantling the Republic of the United States an it's Constitution For your New World Order Agenda an your Progressive Liberal Utopia. Good day
Ron,
The only group defacto executing people are the insurance companies who routinely deny medication due to cost. You have a FAR greater chance of medication being approved by a government healthcare provider than by private industry. I have procrit injections to raise my blood cell counts routinely denied by my insurance which is supposed to be top five in the nation with the recomendation being to apply for disability because medicaire will approve them. I don't know the extent of your reading and comprehension problems but I am sure it is a cross to bear. I am sure few of you have read the entire bill, I have and no one could possibly read the bill and suggest the idea of death panels. It provides end of life counciling to those 65 and over as to BOTH end of life directives and includes a full care directive it is about giving you the choice of how you want to go out and not leaving it up to others.
jkh
@Ron:
What the @!$%# are you babbling about?
Stop watching Glen Beck and Listening to Limbaugh for a few days and try and clear that bull@!$%# propaganda from your system...
Take a little quiet time away from stockpiling food, gold and weapons and try and brush up on some actual facts, instead of the horse@!$%# you are being spoon-fed from whatever Chicken Little propaganda sites it is you frequent...
RON-1137649 I hope they give you your pill soon. Your brain dies years ago.
By the way who was your friend Sara Palin?
arhillbilly
Says****
that what wrong with this Great Nation we have Progressive Liberal an or Rhino's think they Know best an think there the smartest cookie in the bag your Theories has never work an it not working now or in the Future Quit destroying an dismantling the Republic of the United States an it's Constitution For your New World Order Agenda an your Progressive Liberal Utopia. Good day****
So its OK for you to think you know everything and you are the smartest cookie in the bag but no one else can? The Problem is people like you in congress not willing to admit they may not have all the answers but still refuse to listen to or compromise with the other side.
And why shouldn't everyone have to buy insurance? Do you like paying for the non insured? I don't.
PS It was your God G. Bush that coined the phrase "New World Order"
Agree that the cost of keeping him in prison is not justification for ending his life. Otherwise, half the people in nursing homes would be euthanized. Keep him in prison for the rest of his life - maximum security, one hour a day of fresh air and sunlight. 23 hours of solitude.
RON - There is NO end of life clause in the Obama Health Care Bill. And there are NO happy pills. Good Grief, I am absolutely amazed that people believe that crap.
thenewstoday puts it very succintly and very well-considered...although it sounds like Oregon's (as well as Texas') enforcement of 'death sentences' need to be re-worked.
I support our governor on most issues - not this one. When there is no question of guilt - and the crime is an heinous as this - and the guilty agrees with the punishment - and the public has already voted to uphold the death penatly - it should be carried out.
What, by lethal injection? If I get old and tired, maybe I should just kill a bunch of people so I can take the easy way out too. No, our version of the death penalty is just stupid. Hard labor would be better.
Yes, let's keep paying the state $62,000 a year to keep him alive. I don't have anything better to do with my taxes.
On average, the cost of carrying out executions is between 38% and 245% higher than life imprisonment without possibility of parole, according to thirty-one studies completed over the last ten years in nineteen states. A fair whack of that cost is tied up in the legal challenges, I know, but the actual cost of the execution (average $58K) is almost as much as a full year in prison (McMenamin, 2008; Urban Institute, 2008), assuming your figure is correct, and I have limited reason to doubt it. Furthermore, as this man is being held on Death Row, rather than in the maximum-security prison common to violent offenders sentenced to actual life imprisonment, his imprisonment costs are higher than those associated with the lifers. According to a 2006 report to the Washington State Bar Association, costs associated with the initial trial alone range as high as $500,000 MORE than the cost of an identical trial seeking actual life imprisonment, and costs for housing the inmate on Death Row exceeds the cost for life imprisonment by a factor of 30-50%.
I also acknowledge that I have no dog in this fight; I'm not Oregonian, don't pay taxes in Oregon, and don't know this killer or his victims. I simply felt it necessary to point out that the money you are concerned about wasting on this guy's continued life behind bars may pale in comparison to the cost of actually putting him down like some sort of mad dog.
Wasn't it Shakespeare who said "Hang ALL the LAUYERS". He'd really go ape sh!t if he saw our NonJustice system. If we can't wack these people within a reasonable cost, then life at HARD labor would be appropriate. LOL!
PS: I give this dude credit. It's like sayin Pull da trigger MFer. LOL!
David Burns comment on this issue is justified by the facts of the guilty, only an insane person would think the opposite.
This little lowlife, like Gilmore, needs to be allowed to die. This jackass governor, like Bozobama, is governing, not only against the law, but against the will of the people he serves. We need to get rid of these idiot politicians who think they're better than the people around them.
yeah, that's right, give this guy EXACTLY what he wants, FAME. After all, do any of you blood thirsty execution supporters remember who Gilmore killed? NO! but you remember the scumbag lowlife who killed them, don't you. And that's what sociopathic bastards like him want, to at least be remembered. So lock him in a little concrete cell for 23 hours a day for the rest of his life, until even he can't clearly remember why he's there - just some old senile forgotten relic life has passed by years ago.
ryoushi12: And then he tries to get off by claiming mental illness. Yes, it's been tried in my state, and it worked. You keep writing about him, so clearly, you keep spreading his "fame."
Our Gov was a loser last time this time he just plain sucks. The SOB aught to be recalled for the screwing up of his duties a chief law enforcer. Let him trade places with some of the criminals we have locked up and he would change his mind in a heart beat. He is a pompous ass that lets his ego interfer with his duties , he needs to be recalled.
I've never been to Oregon, but have seen photos of it and it is a beautiful state. I don't know that much about your gov, but from what I have been reading, I agree with you 100%.
Two more blood thirsty "persons" who want to give a scumbag killer what he wants, fame.
ryoushi12: from what I've been reading, he got a reprieve and fame, both. So it's a lose/lose proposition either way you go about it. The previous commenters are not blood thirsty, they are realists.
It's the media that keep glorifying this scum. I would prefer that the media would change their reporting style to giving the fame to the victims. I would much prefer to remember those who were innocent than those who are clearly guilty.
David Burns (above) said, "When there is no question of guilt - and the crime is an heinous as this - and the guilty agrees with the punishment - and the public has already voted to uphold the death penalty - it should be carried out." Done and done.
Our Gov was a loser last time this time he just plain sucks. The SOB aught to be recalled for the screwing up of his duties a chief law enforcer. Let him trade places with some of the criminals we have locked up and he would change his mind in a heart beat. He is a pompous ass that lets his ego interfer with his duties , he needs to be recalled.
A little taunting? Serves the governor right for being such a tool.
Cruel and unusual? What about what he did. Nice and normal? I don't think so. This dude sucks!
From what I read . This man doesn't fear death . I gotten to the age , i don't fear death . We've got millions of young men and women who serve in military willing to give their life to keep us free . I respect this man for wanting to pay for his crime .Prove he is of sound mind , and carry out the sentence .
Oh he has fears all right, he fears becoming some senile forgotten old man living his worthless life out in a little concrete cell.
And that is EXACTLY what he should get, because it is the ONE punsihment that will actualy punish him.
Being executed and suicide are two different things all together. Some believe that suicide is the one unforgivable sin. That God can forgive everything else but that. So to offer a cyanide pill and say put your money where your mouth is, is just like comparing apples to oranges. Sure it gets to the same place, but its how you get there that counts.
Why does god always speak through the human vine?? Because the whole concept
of god reflects the human weakness..
brenda 1964
Just maybe , this man has made peace with the Lord , and doesn't wish to go to Hell . He knows suicide will send him to Hell . He might have far more knowledge of Gods teaching than you or I . He might have dreams of walking the streets of gold . Thanking God for forgiving him . I would like to think I could walk with him one day on those streets of gold .
Many here , will not understand my comment . I pray you do . May we pray for them .
Everyone has their own relationship with God that is not known to others,and yes, I mean everyone. Some things we just can't judge, one of them is this man and others like him with issues such as suicide. I'm not opposed to the death penalty and would like to see it used more often but I do understand the opposition very well also. These are very complicated issues and won't be easily resolved if ever they are, which I doubt.
$30,000?
Seriously?
This man is on death row and filing lawsuits like crazy. try adding a zero or two on to that number.
If you want to pay to keep this piece of @!$%# alive "so he can truly suffer", then pony up the cash yourselves, because the majority of the rest of the voters have spoken and they don't want to pay for it.
let him live just a little longer...he's got a lot to look forward to....
Let him enjoy death row for a few more years.. maybe he'll get terminal cancer
and start a slow burn death
hahaha, this is not about him, its about us as a society. I am sure the punishment is just, but his opinion is really a non issue. I have worked on capitol punishment cases and I know that in some cases it is just, but as a society we need to look at ourselves and make sure we are not being pushed toward the mentality where we are just like the people we kill. I think we are better than them. They make their excuses about what they did, but we don't need to do that. Just thinking
If he's such a macho man, why doesnt he off himself? Cuz HE'S the coward! HE'S the 2 time killer!! BTW, offering him cyanide pills would be a waste of 2 perfectly good pills.
You are starting to get it.
give him what he DOES NOT want, life in a little cell, 23 hours a day, until he dies old and senile and forgotten.
exactly. Maybe now he's finally had an epiphany.. "Guess, I really shouldn't have killed those people".
Now he is actually being punished.
How many years has he already been there . He wasn't put in jail day before yesterday . He knows about a small cell and being there 23 hours a day . He knows about hard time , in jail . He will be unable to read the front page when he is gone . He will not know if he got his 15 minutes of fame .
Think ,say what you want . He doesn't get a news paper thrown at his front door . He knows little of what the world is saying about him .
If there was anything "cruel and unusual" about the death penalty then the founding fathers would not have allowed it. Cruel and unusual punishment is when moronic judges,lawyers and government leaders putrefy our Constitution with their do gooder attitudes. No one wants to see an innocent person die because of a screwed up prosecutor or jury,but unfortunately that happens,but not enough to eliminate the death penalty.
If one innocent person is executed by mistake, then it's too many...
By reprieving Haugen, the Governor signed the death warrant for innocent citizens. Kitzhaber is, and has always been, an idiot. That's Oregon for you.
AN OPEN LETTER TO GARY HAUGEN:
Dear Mr. Haugen:
I understand you're upset with Governor Kitzhaber's decision to stop all executions in the state of Oregon. Apparently, you will have to wait (at least until the current governor's term expires) before a real 'cowboy' is elected governor who will accept your wish to be executed.
But, you know, you don't actually have to wait around for several more years to get what you want. Why not commit suicide? I understand you used a razor once to slit your throat, but didn't go far enough - need to work on that. But, maybe razors are too messy. It seems you also have had no trouble getting your hands on drugs in prison. Why not save up a stash and overdose?
I know this will be an inconvenience for you, but is it that bad? Not really - especially when you compare it to the inconvenience you caused Mary Archer when you raped and beat her to death 30 years ago.
Best Wishes Experiencing Eternity,
Bill Stanley
+So this governor doesn't believe in executing crimals---bet he believes in abortion and euthanasia.
You armchair executioners crack me up. You sit far detached and make judgments on situations you know nothing about with the hyped up bravado of the village idiot fending off a miniature poodle.
Exactly. Some of the least imaginative maroons one can find.
Me, I'd lock his ass in a 23 hour lock down with no tv and a book a week for the rest of his life - a few of years of that and he'll be a half mad shell of a human being. Even Gotti, who got a simialr sentence lasted about 5 years before he started to go la la.
juice him up--from my armchair in my living room.
Tell them you are part Black, that should expedite things
Thet, I hope you're kidding. Death Row is crammed with blacks who have murdered and raped. It still takes way too long to execute them.
So, Oregon voted for the death penalty and some say it should therefore be carried out. Some are saying in these blogs that the governor should be recalled. On the other hand, Oregon also voted for this Governor, thereby putting the final decision on any capital case in his hands. It seems that by electing him, it is the death penalty that has been recalled.
It sound to me like it is the voters of Oregon that are the fickle ones. Why blame the Governor?
Now, additionally, I assume that peope are lined up on partisan bases, right? Almost every single candidate in the Republican presidental primary represents himself or herself as 'pro-life.' I don't know what Oregon governor Kitzhaber's party affiliation is, and the article doesn't say, but if he is a Republican, he's acting in strict accordance with that party's plank on the sanctity of life. Right?
So, is Katzhagen a Democrat or a Republican or neither? Just curious.
He's a Democrat
Why should anyone care what this @!$%# murderer thinks? It's not his decision what happens to him! Let him rot or kill him. Either way he's off the street. End o story!
"You don't bring a guy to the table twice and then just stop it."
Hmmm... Seems like he's asking for more than he gave his victims. Cruel and unusual? Isn't that what murder is?
So, is Katzhagen a Democrat or a Republican or neither? Just curious. Lucy 263358, I just saw your post. Since you know his stance on abortion rights and euthenasia, assume you also know his party affiliation. What is it?
The prisoner has more balls than the governor. They should switch places.
Sounds like making this piece of garbage stay alive might be the best punishment. Our death penalty statutes are way wrong. We execute innocent people. We spare the rich and kill the poor or simple minded who can't fight for themselves, and we let it drag through our courts for years at a huge cost to the public. It's wrong. Plus out methods of executing are way too humane. If we are absolutely sure we have a guilty person we should then turn to the family of the victims and let them decide on life or death, and if death, let the family do it in a fashion that wil make them feel better. For instance, if someone raped and murdered my child his death would take days and he'd regret his actions every single moment.