Arizona: Request

The Tuscon Weekly is reporting on Carl Maynard who participated in three armed robberies in 1976. No one was hurt in the process, except Carl, who was shot during the third. Today, the 75-year old says, "It was wrong, what I did ... It was stupid. Stupid. Stupid." Maynard's co-defendants took pleas and received sentences of one year, one year of probation and five years and a day respectively. But Maynard received three 30- to 50- year terms (under sentencing guidelines that have since been revised) and, as a result, he will not be eligible for parole until 2039. The article pointedly notes, "people who are killing people are getting parole after 25 years." Maynard's original lawyer promised to file an appeal, but never did.

The Weekly also emphasizes that the biggest hurdle between Maynard and clemency is Gov. Janet Napolitano (D), who has not granted a single clemency application since taking office in 2003. Napolitano was a former U.S. attorney and state attorney general. In fact, the past three governors granted very few applications for commutations. Alex Heveri, a public defense attorney says applications to that go to Governor Napolitano are "meaningless." He says he has also been told that the Board of Executive Clemency has even resorted to sending her the "three most important" applications, so as to "get her to look at more serious cases" but all to "no avail." See complete story here.