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| Ivan Teleguz |
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court has refused to put a Virginia death row inmate's execution on hold so he can appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond issued an order Thursday declining the request from Ivan Teleguz, who is scheduled to be executed April 25.
Teleguz, who is from Ukraine, was sentenced to death in 2006 for hiring a man to kill Stephanie Sipe, the mother of his child.
She was stabbed to death in her Harrisonburg apartment, and prosecutors said Teleguz wanted get out of paying child support.
He has maintained his innocence, and two key prosecution witnesses have recanted since his conviction.
An appeals court in 2012 ordered a hearing on his innocence claim, but a judge refused to overturn his conviction after one of the witnesses who recanted refused to testify and the other didn’t show up.
In October, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Teleguz, who argued that his 2006 trial attorneys were inadequate because they introduced testimony that Teleguz was involved in another killing that he says never happened.
She was stabbed to death in her Harrisonburg apartment, and prosecutors said Teleguz wanted get out of paying child support.
He has maintained his innocence, and two key prosecution witnesses have recanted since his conviction.
An appeals court in 2012 ordered a hearing on his innocence claim, but a judge refused to overturn his conviction after one of the witnesses who recanted refused to testify and the other didn’t show up.
In October, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Teleguz, who argued that his 2006 trial attorneys were inadequate because they introduced testimony that Teleguz was involved in another killing that he says never happened.
Teleguz asked the 4th Circuit last week to stay his execution so the high court could review his argument that he was denied the right to effective counsel.
His attorneys said in a statement that Teleguz will now petition Gov. Terry McAuliffe to grant him clemency.
Source: Associated Press, March 16, 2017
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