Clemency Board Has Too Many Police: Lawyers For Man To Be Executed

PHOENIX, AZ — The lawyers for the first man in Arizona set to be executed by state since 2014 are challenging the makeup of the state's clemency board, saying that it is "stacked" with former law enforcement officers.

Clarence Dixon, 66, is scheduled to be put to death May 11 for the 1978 rape and murder of 21-year-old Arizona State University student Deana Bowdoin. The Arizona Supreme Court issued a warrant for his execution on April 5.

Dixon's lawyers filed a challenge to the makeup of the clemency board Friday in Maricopa County Superior Court, saying that with the board's current makeup, Dixon would not receive a fair clemency proceeding.

It is clearly noted on the website for the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency that, "No more than two members from the same professional discipline may be members of the Board at the same time."

But it's also outlined in the biographies of the board members, on the same webpage, that three of them have extensive backgrounds working in law enforcement, although all three are now retired from police work.

Sal Freni is a retired 30-year veteran of the Phoenix Police Department, Louis Quinonez served in federal law enforcement for 27 years and Michael Johnson also worked for the Phoenix Police Department for 21 years before retiring in 1995. But Johnson was appointed to the board as a "public policy" member. After leaving the Phoenix Police Department he spent time running his own company and served as a Phoenix City Council member.

"Mr. Dixon is entitled to a fair clemency hearing before an impartial Clemency Board," Joshua Spears, one of Dixon's attorneys, said in a statement. "To ensure a fair hearing, Arizona law limits the Board to no more than two members from the same professional discipline. If the Board proceeds with three of its four members being law enforcement officers, it will violate Mr. Dixon's right to a fair hearing that complies with due process and the plain requirements of Arizona law."

The other two members of the clemency board are Mina Mendez, a former lawyer who also served as a superior court commissioner and a private mediator and Frank Riggs, a former CEO and U.S. Congressman and advocate for K-12 education.

Dixon's attorneys argue that their client will be deprived of a clemency hearing with a board that draws from various backgrounds to make a decision that reflects diverse interests in the state's correctional program, instead of that of former law enforcement officers.

"Mr. Dixon will be deprived of a process where his petition is considered by a well-rounded Board," his lawyers said.

Dixon's lawyers have been hard at work since April 5, when his execution date was set. They questioned the state's ability to conduct a humane execution after the botched lethal injection of Joseph Wood in 2014, which lasted two hours during which Wood repeatedly gasped for breath.

Dixon's attorneys also challenged his execution in Pinal County Superior Court, saying that he is not mentally competent to face execution since he has a documented history of schizophrenia.