Siripongs Gets New Execution Date; Will Take Appeal to Davis

SANTA ANA —  After an Orange County Superior Court judge set a new execution date for Jaturun “Jay” Siripongs on Monday, the attorney for the convicted double murderer announced plans to petition Gov.-elect Gray Davis for a second clemency hearing.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzgerald ordered a Feb. 9 execution date for Siripongs, 43, a onetime Buddhist monk convicted of killing a Garden Grove store owner and a clerk during a 1981 robbery. Siripongs temporarily was spared by a federal court action just hours before he was scheduled to die by lethal injection on Nov. 17 at San Quentin prison.

His attorney, Linda Schilling, on Monday said she was uncertain whether Davis would agree to another clemency hearing, but that she would try nonetheless after the new governor takes office next month. Siripongs’ first clemency request was rejected by Gov. Pete Wilson.

“I don’t know if I feel better or worse,” Schilling said after the hearing. “I don’t know much about Mr. Davis’ position on clemency.”

The case will mark an early political test for the incoming governor. During the gubernatorial campaign, Davis said he supported capital punishment.

In the hours leading up to the original execution date, Schilling filed an appeal arguing that Wilson issued misleading instructions on what information he would consider during the clemency hearing.

Based on that appeal, U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney halted the execution and ordered a new hearing to consider the argument.

After that federal court hearing earlier this month, Chesney refused to extend the stay of execution, saying that the court was in no position to second-guess the governor’s handling of the clemency process. Her ruling cleared the way for prosecutors on Monday to seek a new execution date.

A condemned inmate is allowed to request a clemency hearing any time before the scheduled execution.

Deputy Atty. Gen. Laura Halgren said prosecutors have already agreed to give Schilling time to petition Davis for clemency. The hearing process is left almost entirely to the discretion of the governor.

The Siripongs case has been marked by several unusual twists. First, many prominent figures in the Thai community, both in Southern California and Thailand, have asked that the death sentence be lifted. Among those are Surachai Wattanaporn of Brea, whose wife was murdered by Siripongs. Wattanaporn said his religious beliefs prevent him from advocating death for another human being.

In addition, two jurors who originally recommended the death penalty for Siripongs have since sent letters to the governor saying the sentence should now be lifted, as did a death-row guard and former warden from San Quentin who called Siripongs a “model prisoner.”

But prosecutors, police and others say Siripongs is a callous murderer who deserves to die for his 1981 crimes.