Death row inmate just might get the execution he wants

By Associated Press Published: Oct 6, 2011 at 6:19 PM PDT Last Updated: Oct 6, 2011 at 6:52 PM PDT
Death row inmate just might get the execution he wants
In a handwritten letter, Gary Haugen is critical of death row and the costs associated with death penalty cases.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - A court hearing will be held Friday in Salem that may send death row inmate Gary Haugen to the execution he says he wants.

The Statesman Journal reports that Marion County Circuit Judge Joseph Guimond will ask Haugen a series of questions to determine if he is mentally competent to drop his appeals.

If Haugen is found mentally fit, the judge will issued a death warrant and set the date for lethal injection.

The 49-year-old was sentenced to death in 2007 for the murder of a fellow prison inmate.

His execution would be Oregon's first in 14 years.

Information from: Statesman Journal
     
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