Georgia Criminal Law Blog

On the heels of commuting Samuel David Crowe’s sentence to life without parole, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles is being asked to spare another defendant’s life. Curtis Osborne has an execution date of June 4, 2008. Among his claims are the allegation that his court appointed lawyer,  Johnny Mostiler,was a racist that did not convey the plea offer of life in prison to Mr. Osborne. See the AJC article “Racism infected killer’s defense?”

Former President Jimmy Carter, former deputy U.S. Attorney General Larry Thompson and former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Norman Fletcher are sending letters to the board requesting clemency for Osborne.

Fletcher, who voted in 1993 to uphold Osborne’s death sentence, said he recalled Mostiler’s “apparent ineptness” because he raised so few issues on appeal.

“As is now all too well apparent, it is Mr. Osborne who is suffering due to Mr. Mostiler’s grave shortcomings and his racial prejudices of perhaps a lifetime.”

For more information on the recent Crowe commutation click here.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.