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American Morning

Ask CNN: What is the authority that allows the attorney general to delay a federal execution?

Aired May 21, 2001 - 10:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: A CNN viewer wants to know what is the authority that allows the attorney general to delay a federal execution?

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Charles, good question, so good that I had to check into it as I did not know it off the top of my head. Under the statute, once a condemned man or woman has exhausted all his or her appeals, an execution date is set by the Department of Justice. While the court maintains the power or ability to stay or halt an execution, the Department of Justice is the entity assigned to pick a date, assuming a court has not halted an execution.

In the McVeigh case, the Department of Justice originally chose May 16th, but for reasons now obvious it has changed it to June 11th. Unless the court steps in and halts June 11th or the Justice Department again changes the date, June 11th will be the execution date. Note that the court trumps the Department of Justice, meaning that if the court halts the execution date of June 11th, the Department of Justice has no choice unless the higher court rules otherwise.

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