"NEVADA EXECUTION: Killer Colwell dies by injection; 35-year-old makes no apology, statement after waiving appeals in 1994 case," by Sean Whaley. (March 27, 2004)

CARSON CITY -- Without offering any last statement or apology, Lawrence Colwell Jr. was executed by lethal injection Friday for the "thrill killing" of an elderly tourist in Las Vegas in 1994. Colwell went to his death voluntarily, having waived his appeals. He could have stopped the execution at any time before the lethal drugs entered his system.

Colwell, in handcuffs, was led into the execution chamber at the Nevada State Prison at 8:52 p.m. from a cell across a hallway where he spent the last hours of his life and where he ate his last meal. Colwell, 35, was strapped down on a padded table by correctional officers and a needle was inserted into his right arm. The needle fed three drugs into his bloodstream: one to render him unconscious, one to stop his breathing and the third to stop his heart. He closed his eyes upon entering the execution room and never opened them or said a word. He was pronounced dead at 9:08 p.m.

Department of Corrections Director Jackie Crawford, speaking outside the prison gates after Nevada's 10th execution since 1979, said Colwell had no last words. Colwell pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death in 1995 for strangling and robbing Florida tourist Frank Rosenstock, 76, in 1994 in a room at the Tropicana. "We asked him, did he want to say anything, and he said, `Absolutely not,' " Crawford said. Colwell took no sedative prior to his execution, she said. "But he did smoke a lot of cigarettes," Crawford said.

While Colwell had nothing to say, the victim's two children, Terry Rosenstock and Mindy Dinburg, did make a statement after witnessing his death. "After 10 years of following this case from our homes in New York and New Jersey, and countless trips to Nevada to face our dad's killer in court, today we feel that our family finally has justice," Terry Rosenstock said. Rosenstock said his father "was a family man and always thought of others before himself. It is impossible to put our grief and anger over the loss of our dad into words." "The tenth anniversary of his murder was just a few days ago," he said. "The execution has made us relive this horror."

But Rosenstock said he will return to Nevada in May, when Colwell's accomplice, Merilee Paul, is scheduled for a parole hearing. Rosenstock will speak against her parole. Paul pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for her role in the death of Rosenstock and is serving a life prison term with the possibility of parole.

Colwell's parents were at Nevada State Prison for the execution, but they did not witness their son's death or speak to the media. Among those attending the execution as official witnesses were Attorney General Brian Sandoval, Clark County District Attorney David Roger and Michael Hillerby, Gov. Kenny Guinn's chief of staff. None of the witnesses made any comment after the execution.

Waiting nearby was Colwell's attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Michael Pescetta. Pescetta was there to file a stay to stop the execution if Colwell had asked him to do so. U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben said at a competency hearing for Colwell earlier this month that he would sign such a stay right up to the last minute if necessary. It remained uncertain until about 7 p.m. Friday whether Colwell would go through with his execution. Fritz Schlottman, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections, said Friday morning that Colwell's behavior had changed, raising questions about whether he would seek a stay.

Colwell had been meeting with his parents and legal advisers who were urging him to continue with his appeals. At about 7 p.m., Pescetta visited with Colwell to read a letter the inmate had written. While the contents were not released, Colwell wrote that he would not halt his execution. In the end, Colwell went through with his plans without any display of emotion. He first announced his intention to be executed at a hearing in Clark County District Court in February. He ate his last meal of pizza, a cheeseburger, fruit and cola at about 4 p.m.

Voluntary executions are the norm in Nevada. Nine of the 10 men executed since October 1979 have chosen death rather than pursue legal appeals. The execution that preceded Colwell's occurred in April 2001, when Sebastian Bridges waived his appeals and was put to death for murdering Hunter Blatchford, 27, in the Las Vegas desert in 1997.

A group of about 40 people opposed to the death penalty held a candlelight vigil outside the prison grounds prior to the execution Friday. "The death penalty is a direct act of violence against human life," said the Rev. Chuck Durante, co-chairman of the Life, Peace and Justice Commission of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Reno, in a prepared statement. Durante led the group in songs, including, "We Shall Overcome," on the shoulder of the road across from the prison. Nearby, lone pro-death penalty protester Chris Daugherty of Carson City held a sign that said: "Nevada is the Old West. Hang him high." "This guy deserves to go somewhere else," Daugherty said. "He doesn't belong here with us."

Colwell did not grant any interviews to the media. At his sentencing hearing in 1995, he asked a three-judge panel to sentence him to death for killing Rosenstock. "I took his life for no reason. No reason at all. It wasn't for the money. It was for the kicks of it, I guess. "It was like taking a walk in the park, taking a drive down the street," he said. "The act itself was committed that easily, and it was uncalled for."

At the same hearing, former Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell said Colwell "has been headed for the death penalty since he was a youth, 12 years old or younger." Bell said Colwell received his first conviction at the age of 12 for burglarizing a school in Oregon and continued to have trouble with the law throughout his youth. At the age of 18, the high school dropout used a rifle to kidnap his former girlfriend in Oregon. He went to prison in August 1988 for that crime and was released on parole in June 1993. Bell said Colwell continued to commit crimes after his release and later headed for Michigan with his girlfriend, Paul, to set up a marijuana farm. The pair soon ran out of money, he said, and in March 1994 headed to Las Vegas.

WKMG-TV Central Florida

"Nevada Executes Man For Killing Fla. Tourist." (10:46 pm EST March 27, 2004)

CARSON CITY, Nev. -- The killer of an elderly Broward County, Fla., tourist was executed after refusing a last-minute appeal. Lawrence Colwell Jr., 35, was executed by injection late Friday at the Nevada State Prison for the 1994 strangulation of Las Vegas tourist Frank Rosenstock, 76. Cowell had refused to seek a stay from a federal judge - who had said he would stop the execution if asked.

The inmate, shackled at the ankles and wrists and wearing jeans, a blue cotton shirt and shiny black boots, showed no emotion as he was led into the prison's old gas chamber and hoisted onto a gurney. He briefly glanced at the 20 witnesses in a viewing area and then closed his eyes and never reopened them. Colwell died at 9:08 p.m., six minutes after being injected with three lethal drugs.

Prison Director Jackie Crawford said Colwell had no final statement and didn't express remorse for strangling Rosenstock. "We asked him, did he want to say anything and he said absolutely not," Crawford said. "To be very honest, sometimes these people become very tired , very weary of being incarcerated," she said. Crawford said Colwell wasn't sedated and "smoked a lot of cigarettes" before his execution. He also talked with a priest and with a federal defender summoned to the prison shortly before the execution to see if he wanted a last-minute stay. Earlier, he met with his parents and dined on a last meal of pizza, a cheeseburger, french fries and ice cream. His parents, Lawrence Colwell Sr., and mother, Ruby Culp, both from the Grants Pass, Ore., area where Colwell was raised, remained inside the prison but did not witness his death.

The victim's son, Terry Rosenstock, 47, a New York banking consultant, and his sister, Mindy Dinburg, 52, a New Jersey probation officer, witnessed the execution. Afterward, Rosenstock read a statement saying, "After 10 years of following this case from our homes in New York and New Jersey, and countless trips to Nevada to face our dad's killer in court, today we feel that our family finally has justice." "We have been asked if the execution brings closure to our family and the answer is no. We see today as just the end of another painful chapter in a story we wish had never been written."

Rosenstock, a New York widower who had retired to the Fort Lauderdale area, was vacationing in Las Vegas when Colwell's girlfriend lured him to his hotel room and summoned Colwell. Colwell strangled the retired Brooklyn furrier with a belt, took $91 in cash and Rosenstock's credit cards, but missed $300 the victim had hidden in a sock. Afterward, prosecutors said, Colwell and Merrilee Paul returned to their motel "and had sex and breakfast." Paul later pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

Michael Pescetta, an assistant federal defender who represented Colwell, said his parents didn't want to say anything. But he said Colwell had sent a letter to Gov. Kenny Guinn "making it quite clear how remorseful he was." Colwell's body will be cremated at his and his parents' request. Outside the prison some 30 people lit candles, carried signs and sang hymns to protest the execution. "We're sad that the state of Nevada is taking one of its citizen's lives tonight," said Nancy Hart, who heads an anti-death penalty group. Chris Daugherty of Carson City carried a sign supporting Colwell's execution "Nevada is the Old West - Hang Him High."

The execution was the first in Nevada since April 2001 when Sebastian Bridges was put to death and the 52nd at the Nevada State Prison since 1903. Executions are held in the prison's gas chamber, though lethal gas hasn't been used since convicted killer Jesse Bishop was executed in 1979. Lethal injections have been used for the nine executions since, including Colwell's. All but one of the condemned inmates cleared the way for their executions by voluntarily surrendering their rights to appeal.

Colwell said at recent court hearings that he wanted no more appeals. "I can't sit here and say I'm 100 percent for this," Colwell said at a Feb. 25 hearing in Las Vegas, where a judge issued a death warrant. "Like I've told the attorneys all along, I'm about 90-10 and I don't think that will ever change." "Do I want to die? No, I don't want to die," he said." But is the value of life there for me now? No, it isn't."

Colwell lost two state Supreme Court appeals, including one in 1996 and another in 2002 in which Nevada justices said the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against using judicial panels in capital cases couldn't be applied retroactively. Colwell receiving the death sentence from a three-judge panel after pleading guilty and requesting he be executed. At his initial 1995 sentencing hearing, Colwell told the sentencing panel that he planned for weeks to kill someone and murdered Rosenstock "for the kicks of it, I guess." He said he was sorry for what he did, but added the murder "was like taking a walk in the park, taking a drive down the street." Eighty-four inmates remain on death row in Nevada.

ProDeathPenalty.Com

Convicted killer Lawrence Colwell Jr., told a federal judge in clear terms that he wants to proceed with his execution at 9 p.m. on March 26. "Am I certain I want to be executed?" Colwell said to U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben. "I'm 99.99 percent certain that I do. Because I'm tired of this."

After an 80-minute hearing during which McKibben repeatedly asked Colwell about his intentions, the former Oregon resident who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Las Vegas in 1995 did not waver. McKibben also asked questions to determine if Colwell was competent to proceed with his death by lethal injection and if he knew what it would mean to die. "Yes, I understand the difference between life and death," Colwell said. McKibben found that Colwell was competent to proceed with his execution. There is no evidence of mental illness or other factor that would lead to a different conclusion, the judge said. Colwell, wearing prison-issued blue jeans and blue shirt, was articulate and polite throughout the hearing, saying "yes, sir" or "no, sir" to McKibben's repeated questions. McKibben did allow an appeal filed by Colwell to remain active in U.S. District Court, which will give the inmate a chance up to the last minute to change his mind.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Michael Pescetta will also remain as Colwell's attorney, but he told McKibben he would not seek a stay of execution unless Colwell told him to do so. McKibben expressed a concern that Colwell could manipulate the court system by waiting until the last moment to seek a stay. The judge said he was not interested in any "procedural games." But McKibben also said he would grant any request by Colwell to stop the execution because issues he has raised on appeal remain unresolved. Colwell said it is not his intention to change his mind at the last minute. "I really don't believe it will go to the 11th hour," he said. If he changes his mind, Colwell said he would seek a stay by no later than March 24.

Colwell pleaded guilty in 1995 to first-degree murder for strangling and robbing elderly Florida tourist Frank Rosenstock in 1994. Colwell's death sentence stems from the slaying of Frank Rosenstock on March 10, 1994, at the Tropicana. The slaying occurred after Colwell's girlfriend, Merillee Paul, lured Rosenstock to his room, then called Colwell to carry out a robbery. Colwell strangled Rosenstock with a belt. Afterward, prosecutors said, Colwell and Merrilee Paul returned to their motel "and had sex and breakfast."

Paul pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced to life in prison. Colwell pleaded guilty to the murder as well and then appeared before a three-judge panel for a sentencing hearing in 1995. Colwell represented himself during the hearing. "I took his life for no reason," he told the judges. "No reason at all. It wasn't for the money. It was for the kicks of it, I guess." "It was like taking a walk in the park, taking a drive down the street," Colwell said. "The act itself was committed that easily, and it was uncalled for." During the hearing, Colwell stopped short of saying he wanted to die, but he did nothing to try to prevent his death sentence. He called no witnesses on his behalf and while questioning prosecution witnesses, he portrayed himself in the worst possible light. "The victim died," Colwell said. "I murdered him in cold blood."

McKibben also queried Colwell about his appeal on file with the U.S. District Court, noting that his sentence of death could be vacated if some of his claims are upheld. In particular, the judge asked Colwell if he was aware that the U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide whether to make retroactive a previous decision finding sentencing by three-judge panels is unconstitutional. Colwell, who was sentenced by a three-judge panel after pleading guilty, could be affected by the decision, McKibben said. Colwell said he was aware of the review but that he wanted to proceed anyway.

"I'm just ready," he said. Frank Rosenstock's son, Terry Rosenstock, said from New York that he and his sister are making plans to attend the execution of their father's killer. "It is a very awkward feeling," Rosenstock said. "You are going to watch someone die, and it is going to affect us. "We were taught that life is very precious. But at the same time, this is something I have to do," Rosenstock said.

Authorities said Colwell had been in trouble with the law since he was 12 - for running away from home, starting a fire, animal cruelty, burglary, theft, forgery, stealing a car and other crimes. At age 18, he was imprisoned for 5 years after a 1988 conviction for kidnapping an ex-girlfriend who had worked with him at a fast-food joint in Grants Pass, Ore. While in prison, records showed he seduced a female guard and bragged about it. Colwell had been out on parole for nearly a year when he killed Rosenstock and, according to prosecutors, had been talking about murdering someone since 1988. A former Oregon cellmate, who Colwell visited after the Las Vegas murder, provided the tip that led authorities to Colwell. Colwell had wound up in a Grants Pass jail for a parole violation after visiting his mother, Ruby Culp, at a trailer park in nearby Myrtle Creek. The former cellmate also described Colwell as threatening and manipulative, and said Colwell wanted him to join in robbing a military armory so they could steal weapons and form a militia-like criminal gang. Colwell, who used the alias Charles Durrant, also claimed to be part of a shadowy, white-only group called "Merces Constrada" which he said was Latin for "Mercenary of the Country." Court records also note letters from Colwell to various public and police agencies asking them to investigate a conspiracy to "get him," and letters to then-President Clinton and Hillary Clinton warning them of dangerous gang activity. Colwell has told authorities he didn't want to grant any interview requests while he awaits execution.

UPDATE: Las Vegas killer Lawrence Colwell wants to be well-groomed when he goes to his execution March 26 at the Nevada State Prison. Colwell has asked to receive a haircut and to have his teeth cleaned before he is put to death by lethal injection, prison spokesman Fritz Schlottman said. The inmate has been placed in protective custody in a single-bed cell. The section he is in has its own exercise yard. Schlottman described Colwell's demeanor as "matter-of-fact." Colwell has declined further court appeals and said he wants to be executed. But he has left the door open to renew his appeal and get a stay of execution from the federal court. He has said he will decide that issue by Wednesday. Colwell has declined to be interviewed by the press.

Terry Rosenstock, the son of the victim, and Mindy Dinburg, the daughter, plan to attend the execution. Rosenstock said, "We have to," he said, "for closure." Rosenstock, of New York, said Colwell "did wrong by my father," and the killing "leaves a permanent mark on my life." Rosenstock said he and Dinburg, who lives in New Jersey, plan to arrive the night before the execution. Colwell has asked that his television, which was in storage, be returned to him, Schlottman said. Colwell has also asked for ice in his soft drinks. The prison does not have an ice-making machine, Schlottman said.

The March 26 execution is expected to have an estimated 20 witnesses, including the family members and 10 members of the media, Schlottman said. On March 10, 1994, Colwell and his girlfriend Merillee Paul robbed and murdered 76-year-old Frank Rosenstock at the Tropicana. Rosenstock, of Florida, was handcuffed and strangled with a belt. Colwell and Paul fled to Oregon, where she turned herself in to authorities. She pleaded guilty to 1st-degree murder and testified against Colwell. She is serving a life term with the possibility of parole. The state initially did not seek the death penalty in the case, but Colwell offered to plead guilty to all charges if the state changed its position. At the penalty hearing before three judges, Colwell asked to be put to death.

UPDATE: Condemned Nevada inmate Lawrence Colwell Jr., facing a 9 p.m. execution for strangling a Las Vegas tourist, had what prison officials term an overnight emotional change and asked to meet with a public defender's representative. "His emotional state has changed," Nevada State Prison spokesman Fritz Schlottman said, adding that Colwell had been talkative but Friday morning became quiet and asked to see a federal public defender's paralegal, Linda Lewis. Lewis had talked several times with Colwell in the days leading up to his scheduled execution by injection, and was to meet with some of his family members early Friday. Assistant federal defenders Michael Pescetta and Rebecca Blaskey boarded a plane in Las Vegas and planned to join Lewis at the prison. They were to arrive at about noon - the same time Colwell was to be moved to a "last night" cell next to the death chamber - the prison's old gas chamber.

The events early Friday followed meetings on Thursday between Colwell and his father, Lawrence Colwell Sr. of Grants Pass, Ore., and with his godparents, Thomas and Dorothy Higgins of McGill, Nev. He recently became a Catholic. Earlier in the week, Colwell had met with a Catholic priest and his mother, Ruby Culp, who's from the Grants Pass area. Prison officials have moved ahead with plans for the execution, preparing staffers and taking Colwell's request for a last meal of pizza, a cheeseburger, french fries and ice cream. As of Thursday, he had left open the possibility of a last-minute stay. NSP Warden Mike Budge said Colwell still has left a "little 0.01 percent" window for a stay that the judge already has said he'd grant - but only if the inmate asks for it. Colwell, who has refused to grant media interviews, met with Budge and other prison officials who went over the execution procedures with him. He's also been making phone calls and has access to a television, but opted not to use a prison exercise yard. Colwell had told U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben on March 5 that he'd probably say by Wednesday whether he wanted a stay of his lethal injection. But that self-imposed deadline came and went with no final word from him.

UPDATE: Nevada death row inmate Lawrence Colwell Jr. was executed by injection Friday night for strangling an elderly tourist in Las Vegas. Colwell, 35, was executed at the Nevada State Prison after refusing to seek a stay from a federal judge - who had said he would stop the execution if Colwell asked. The inmate wearing jeans, a blue cotton shirt and shiny black boots was led into the prison's old gas chamber. He briefly glanced at the 20 witnesses who were in the viewing area and closed his eyes as he was hoisted onto the gurney. Colwell died a few minutes after being injected with 3 lethal drugs at 9:02 p.m.

Some 30 people lit candles, carried signs and sang hymns outside the prison to protest the execution. "We're sad that the state of Nevada is taking one of its citizen's lives tonight," said Nancy Hart, who heads an anti-death penalty group. Chris Daugherty of Carson City carried a sign supporting Colwell's execution "Nevada is the Old West - Hang Him High." Daugherty said he was "expressing my First Amendment rights in favor of the death penalty" because executions protect future victims from killers. "They can't go out and kill somebody else," he said. Colwell, an Oregon native, lost 2 state Supreme Court appeals, including one in 1996 and another in 2002 in which Nevada justices said the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against using judicial panels in capital cases couldn't be applied retroactively. The victim's son, Terry Rosenstock, 47, a New York banking consultant, and his sister, Mindy Dinburg, 52, a New Jersey probation officer, witnessed the execution.

Nevada Department of Correction

Inmate Name: COLWELL, LAWRENCE
NDOC ID: 47271
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
DOB: 03/01/1969
Approximate Age: 35
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 170 lbs
Build: Medium
Complex: Fair
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue

Las Vegas Sun

"Death penalty opponents gather in Vegas as execution nears," by Christina Almeida. (AP March 24, 2004)

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Two days before Nevada's first scheduled execution in three years, a group of death penalty opponents gathered for a vigil to highlight what they call an unjust practice. About a dozen death penalty activists attended a news conference and vigil Wednesday afternoon at Christ Episcopal Church. As the names of the nine people executed in Nevada since 1979 were read aloud, members of the group placed daisies in a large red bucket.

"We are here today to express our outrage and our dismay that Nevada is about to kill one of its citizens," said Nancy Hart, president of the Nevada Coalition Against The Death Penalty. "Nothing justifies the taking of human life when there are so many frailties and flaws within the system." The group plans a candlelight vigil outside the Nevada State Prison in Carson City on Friday night, when convicted killer Lawrence Colwell Jr. is scheduled to be executed.

Colwell, 35, asked for and received a death sentence for strangling tourist Frank Rosenstock, 76, in 1994 in Las Vegas. Colwell's girlfriend lured the New York widower who had retired to the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., area to his room then called Colwell who strangled Rosenstock with a belt. Many in the group said they were troubled by Colwell's decision to commit what they called "state-assisted suicide." "In this state, the death penalty is only used when the prisoner is volunteering to be executed," said Abe Bonowitz, director of Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. "That's not the way it should be. Real punishment would be not to let them have the cowardly way out."

All but one of the nine inmates executed in Nevada since 1979 cleared the way for their executions by voluntarily surrendering their rights to appeal. Nevada's last execution was held in April 2001 when Sebastian Bridges refused to stop his execution and was put to death.

The group also read the names of the victims killed by those who have been executed. "We remember the victims, but not with more killing," Bonowitz said. "We are for accountability. We believe victims' families are entitled to see the person who killed their loved one locked up - and throw away the key." Bill Pelke, director of Journey of Hope, a victims rights organization opposed to the death penalty, said healing does not come when a killer is executed. "I didn't need to see someone die to have that healing," said Pelke, whose grandmother was murdered in 1985. "It's simply continuing the cycle of violence. Violent acts are never going to lead to peace and healing and justice."

The group planned a forum Wednesday night at University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Reno Gazette-Journal Online

"Nevada executions follow precise procedures," by Brendan Riley. (AP 3/21/2004 08:34 pm)

Unless he asks for a last-minute stay, condemned inmate Lawrence Colwell Jr. will be led through a submarine-type door into the Nevada State Prison’s half-century-old death chamber and be executed at 9 p.m. Friday. The procedures to be followed provide for a final meal, coffee, cigarettes or a cigar if requested in a “last night” cell just outside the tiny death chamber. The entire execution area, which includes two last night cells and a viewing room for witnesses, is so small it’s difficult for people to move around.

Colwell will be able to send out last letters to his family and reporters and possibly make some final phone calls. He also can be visited by the chaplain, warden or prison director, and give away any personal items to other inmates. A visit from his mother, Ruby Culp, also is scheduled. The condemned man gets a new set of prison denims. There has been one exception in 2001: Sebastian Bridges, the last man to be executed in Nevada, wore a suit. Colwell hasn’t made that request. So far, he has asked for a haircut and to have his teeth cleaned before he dies, prison spokesman Fritz Schlottman said.

To guard against suicide attempts, a “death watch” guard keeps an eye on the convict at all times. Colwell can’t have any electrical items, such as a radio or television, in his cell although they can be placed in the corridor outside the cell. Colwell has asked to use his television, which has been in storage. A few hours before the execution, Colwell will be pre-medicated with a sedative to discourage last-minute resistance.

About half an hour before the execution, Colwell will be brought into the 9-by-12-foot, beige-painted room where he’s strapped to a gurney with eight automobile seat belts. If he can’t or won’t walk to the death room, he will be carried in on a stretcher. Looking up, Colwell will be able to see two bare light bulbs and the old exhaust pipe that was used to fill the room with cyanide gas until the Legislature discontinued the practice in 1983. If he turns his head, Colwell will see a heart monitor. Through a three-panel window on his right he can see the nine witnesses required by law plus a dozen or so other witnesses who will be standing in a 13-by-20-foot viewing room. The first is an overdose of a “downer” that can cause death. Another stops breathing, and a third stops the heart. A few minutes later, a doctor pronounces the inmate dead, shades on the death chamber windows are pulled down, the needles are removed from his arm, and the body is transported to a local mortuary.

Prison officials had hoped to replace the old chamber, once described by Nevada State Prison Warden Mike Budge as “almost medieval,” but the 2003 Legislature didn’t fund the project. Two and possibly three other locations at the prison were in use before the current chamber was first used in 1950 to execute James Williams for the murder of a co-worker in Elko. Twenty condemned men have died in the chamber since. Those executions are among 51 at the state prison since 1901, when it was designated as the location for all executions.

Jesse Bishop, convicted of murder in a Las Vegas casino robbery, was the last person to be executed in the chamber by lethal gas, in 1979. Since then, all executions have been by lethal injection. Bishop and the other condemned men who followed him were “table jumpers,” guard parlance for inmates who didn’t resist as they were led to the death chamber and strapped into a chair or onto the gurney that’s now used.

Bridges’ execution, on April 21, 2001, was the most bizarre in recent years. Wearing his brown, double-breasted Pierre Cardin suit and shiny, new black shoes, he appeared calm at first, but then broke down, sobbing and screaming, “You want to kill me like a dog.” Still he wouldn’t appeal. Had he done so, even at the last minute, the execution would have been called off.

NEVADA EXECUTIONS SINCE 1976

Nine men, all but one of them who refused appeals, have been executed in Nevada since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for capital punishment in the mid-1970s:

1979—Jesse Walter Bishop, 46, was executed by lethal gas Oct. 22, 1979, for killing a newlywed man in the El Morocco hotel-casino in Las Vegas during a robbery attempt. Bishop, the last man to die by gas in Nevada, refused all appeals and insisted that he be executed.

1985—Carroll Cole, 47, was executed Dec. 6, 1985, for killing Marie Cushman in Las Vegas. Cole was the first to die by injection and, like Bishop, wanted to be executed. He also was convicted of killing four other women, and claimed to have killed more than a dozen women.

1989—William Thompson, 51, was executed by injection June 19, 1989, for killing a transient in Reno. Thompson, a career criminal, also had two other murder convictions, and claimed to have killed three other men. He wouldn’t appeal, saying his execution would be “payment to everyone I’ve ever hurt.”

1989—Four days after Thompson’s execution, Sean Flanagan, 27, was executed by injection on June 23, 1989, for killing two men in Las Vegas. Flanagan said he thought he could do “some good” by killing homosexuals. He asked to die.

1990—Thomas Baal, 26, was executed by injection June 3, 1990, for killing a bus driver during a Las Vegas robbery. Baal also wanted to die and resisted efforts by his family to appeal his sentence.

1996—Richard Moran, 42, was executed by injection March 31, 1996, for two killings in a Las Vegas bar in 1984 while on a drug and alcohol binge. Moran was the only one of the inmates executed since the mid-1970s who didn’t oppose legal efforts to keep him alive — but said he was ready to die.

1998—Richard Abeyta, 44, was executed by injection Oct. 5, 1998, for killing his sleeping ex-girlfriend by shooting her twice in the head while ransacking her home for drugs. He opposed any 11th-hour legal efforts to stop his execution.

1999—Alvaro Calambro, 25, was executed by injection April 5, 1999, for the January 1994 murders of Peggy Crawford, who had a tire iron driven through her skull, and Keith Christopher, whose head was crushed by a hammer. Representatives of Calambro’s native Philippines tried to stop the execution of the Filipino national, but he opposed any appeals.

2001—Sebastian Bridges, 37, was executed by injection April 21, 2001, for killing Hunter Blatchford in the desert outside Las Vegas in October 1997. Blatchford had been romantically involved with Bridges’ estranged wife, Laurie. Bridges refused to file appeals, but just before his lethal injections were administered he began sobbing and screamed, “I killed nobody, nobody,” and “You want to kill me like a dog.”

Las Vegas Sun

"Condemned Nevada man had criminal record, delusions," by Brendan Riley. (AP March 20, 2004)

CARSON CITY (AP) - Lawrence Colwell Jr., facing execution March 26 for the thrill killing of an elderly tourist in Las Vegas, has a troubled history that includes a long criminal record and reports of delusional, anti-social behavior since he was a boy.

Colwell, 35, asked for and received a death sentence for strangling Frank Rosenstock, 76, a New York widower who had retired to the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., area. The March 1994 slaying occurred after Colwell's girlfriend lured Rosenstock to his hotel room, then called Colwell to rob him. Colwell strangled Rosenstock with a belt, took $91 in cash and Rosenstock's credit cards, but missed $300 the victim had hidden in a sock. After the "trick roll," prosecutors said, Colwell and his girlfriend, Merrilee Paul, returned to their motel "and had sex and breakfast." Paul later pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

At a recent hearing, Colwell told U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben that he's "99.99 percent" certain he'll do nothing to stop his execution at Nevada State Prison. He said he'd decide by March 24 - and McKibben told the condemned man that Colwell is the only one who can stop the execution.

Court records in Colwell's case include psychiatrists' conclusions that Colwell, a southwest Oregon high school dropout who took some community college classes, studied Latin and learned enough anatomy to figure out how to kill people, had a "serious delusional disorder" and was "anti-social to the point of being psychopathic."

Authorities said Colwell had been in trouble with the law since he was 12 - for running away from home, starting a fire, animal cruelty, burglary, theft, forgery, stealing a car and other crimes. At age 18, he was imprisoned for five years after a 1988 conviction for kidnapping an ex-girlfriend who had worked with him at a fast-food joint in Grants Pass, Ore. While in prison, records showed he seduced a female guard and bragged about it. Colwell had been out on parole for nearly a year when he killed Rosenstock and, according to prosecutors, had been talking about murdering someone since 1988.

A former Oregon cellmate, who Colwell visited after the Las Vegas murder, provided the tip that led authorities to Colwell. Colwell had wound up in a Grants Pass jail for a parole violation after visiting his mother, Ruby Culp, at a trailer park in nearby Myrtle Creek. The former cellmate also described Colwell as threatening and manipulative, and said Colwell wanted him to join in robbing a military armory so they could steal weapons and form a militia-like criminal gang. Colwell, who used the alias Charles Durrant, also claimed to be part of a shadowy, white-only group called "Merces Constrada" which he said was Latin for "Mercenary of the Country."

Court records also note letters from Colwell to various public and police agencies asking them to investigate a conspiracy to "get him," and letters to then-President Clinton and Hillary Clinton warning them of dangerous gang activity.

Colwell has told authorities he didn't want to grant any interview requests while he awaits execution. But he's made it clear at his court hearings that he wants no appeals. "I can't sit here and say I'm 100 percent for this," Colwell said at a Feb. 25 hearing in Las Vegas, where a judge issued a death warrant. "Like I've told the attorneys all along, I'm about 90-10 and I don't think that will ever change." "Do I want to die? No, I don't want to die," he said." But is the value of life there for me now? No, it isn't."

Colwell lost two state Supreme Court appeals, including one in 1996 and another in 2002 in which Nevada justices said the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against judicial panels in capital cases couldn't be applied retroactively.

At his initial 1995 sentencing hearing, Colwell told the sentencing panel he planned for weeks to kill someone and murdered Rosenstock "for the kicks of it, I guess." While he said he was sorry for what he did, he added the murder "was like taking a walk in the park, taking a drive down the street." Colwell's refusal to stop his execution is fine with the victim's son, Terry Rosenstock, 47, who plans to watch Colwell die.

"It's something we have to do," Rosenstock, a Staten Island, N.Y., banking consultant, said in a recent telephone interview. He said he and his sister, Mindy Dinburg, 52, a New Jersey probation officer, plan to witness the execution. "We're going to this execution and it's going to affect us. Seeing someone perish in front of you is going to affect you," Rosenstock said. "But it's closure. That's the bottom line." "It's a very difficult time," he said. "You think about this, you don't sleep." Rosenstock pointed out the execution coincides with the 10-year mark of his father's March 1994 death at the Tropicana hotel-casino in Las Vegas. "He took the life of a person who was full of life and had many, many reasons to live," Rosenstock said. "We've thought about this. If he wants the death sentence, maybe he should get what he doesn't want." But there's no guarantee that Colwell would spend the rest of his life on Nevada's death row, Rosenstock said, noting that Colwell was sentenced by a three-judge panel - a practice since declared unconstitutional. "He would go through a whole new (sentencing) hearing," Rosenstock said. "Your emotions go back and forth. We were subpoenaed at his trial and we would be again. We've been through enough already."

If the execution is held, it would be the first in Nevada since April 2001 when Sebastian Bridges was put to death. Executions are held in the state's old gas chamber, although lethal gas hasn't been used since 1979, when convicted killer Jesse Bishop was executed. Lethal injections were used for the eight executions that followed. All but one of the condemned inmates, Richard Moran who died in 1996, cleared the way for their executions by voluntarily surrendering their rights to appeal.

Las Vegas Review-Journal

"Colwell's execution scheduled Friday; 35-year-old can opt to continue appeals, halt lethal injection," by Sean Whaley and Frank Curreri. (Thursday, March 25, 2004)

CARSON CITY -- Unless he changes his mind at the last minute, convicted killer Lawrence Colwell Jr. will walk across a short hallway Friday that separates the "last night" cell from the former gas chamber at the Nevada State Prison. There, the 35-year-old inmate will be strapped to a gurney and a needle will be inserted into his arm. At 9 p.m., officials with the Department of Corrections, hidden from view behind a wall, will pump three injections into his bloodstream.

The first drug is a sedative to put Colwell to sleep. It will be followed by two other drugs, one to stop his breathing and the other, his heart. A doctor will then pronounce Colwell dead, and he'll become the 10th man executed in Nevada since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Michael Pescetta said Wednesday that Colwell's resolve has not wavered. "There's been no change," he said. "We're just sort of sitting here waiting by the phone." U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben said at a hearing earlier this month to determine Colwell's competency that he would sign a stay right up to the last minute if necessary. At the hearing, Colwell said he was unlikely to change his mind. "I really don't believe it will go to the 11th hour," he told the judge.

Colwell pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death in 1995 for strangling and robbing Florida tourist Frank Rosenstock, 76, in 1994 in a Las Vegas hotel room. Rosenstock's son, Terry Rosenstock, said Wednesday that he and his sister, Mindy Dinburg, are planning to fly to Nevada today to witness Friday's execution. "I feel this is the place we have to be," Terry Rosenstock said from New York. "It will be a totally new experience. The whole scenario is like something you watch on TV." Rosenstock said he attended Colwell's trial and has followed all the legal proceedings closely over the years. "This won't bring closure," he said of the execution. "It's a close of a chapter."

About 20 death penalty abolitionists gathered Wednesday at a Las Vegas church to denounce the scheduled execution. One of them was former death row inmate Juan Melendez, convicted of a Florida murder in 1984. Seventeen years later he was freed when it was revealed that prosecutors had hidden evidence to protect the real killer, who was a police informant. "When they (death row inmates) drop the appeals, they ask the government to help them commit suicide," said Melendez, 52. "But I had my dreams; my wonderful dreams saved me." Melendez, who is traveling as part of the Journey of Hope Abolition Day '04 tour, said he was "a prime example that the death penalty system is not accurate. It's not fair; it's all about revenge." Melendez had been convicted of the 1983 slaying of a beauty school owner, though no physical evidence had ever tied him to the crime. "I was always trying to keep hope that one day I would be free," Melendez said.

Under the cover of trees at Christ Episcopal Church, he and others in the group prayed and sang a hymn called "Give Peace to Every Heart." They attacked the death penalty for reasons ranging from religious to humanitarian. They know that Colwell is allowing his own death, but believe the state is wrong to oblige him. "That's not the way it should be," said Abe Bonowitz, director of Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. "Real punishment would be to not allow the cowardly way out. Don't let the citizens of this state lower themselves to the level of this killer."

Colwell has declined requests for interviews. He is considered a "volunteer," a death-row inmate who has decided to waive his legal appeals and allow himself to be executed. At his sentencing hearing nearly a decade ago, Colwell told the judges deciding his fate: "I took his life for no reason. No reason at all. It wasn't for the money. It was for the kicks of it, I guess. "It was like taking a walk in the park, taking a drive down the street," he said. "The act itself was committed that easily, and it was uncalled for."

Voluntary executions are the norm in Nevada. Nine of the 10 men since the first in October 1979 have chosen death rather than pursue legal appeals. At his competency hearing, Colwell hinted that his bleak life on death row at Ely State Prison in eastern Nevada played a part in his decision to be executed.

Death row inmates spend 23 hours a day in their cells. Contact with visitors is limited because of the remote location. Fritz Schlottman, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections, said Colwell has had family visit his this week. Colwell has asked for a haircut and his teeth to be cleaned, Schlottman said. "He wanted his TV," Schlottman said. "We packed it up when he was moved from Ely (State Prison). We dug it up and got him his TV."

The last execution was in April 2001. Sebastian Bridges waived his appeals and was put to death for murdering Hunter Blatchford, 27, in the Las Vegas desert in 1997. Prior to his execution, Colwell will have his choice of meals from the prison kitchen. A telephone is available for him to make calls to family and friends from the last night cell, where he will be moved on Friday. Across the hall is the gas chamber where executions are carried out. Nevada in 1983 switched from cyanide gas to lethal injection, but the old gas chamber is still used for executions.

At his sentencing hearing, former Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell said Colwell, "has been headed for the death penalty since he was a youth, 12 years old or younger." Bell said Colwell received his first conviction at the age of 12 for burglarizing a school in Oregon and continued to have trouble with the law throughout his youth. At the age of 18, the high school dropout used a rifle to kidnap his former girlfriend in Oregon. He went to prison in August 1988 for that crime and was released on parole in June 1993. Bell said Colwell continued to commit crimes after his release and later headed for Michigan with his girlfriend, Merilee Paul, to set up an underground marijuana farm. The pair soon ran out of money, he said, and headed to Las Vegas in March 1994.

Paul also pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for her role in the death of Rosenstock and is serving a life prison term with the possibility of parole. She is scheduled for a parole hearing in May.

Colwell v. State, 919 P.2d 403 (Nev. 1996) (Direct Appeal).

A pro se defendant pled guilty to murder, burglary, and robbery charges, and requested that death penalty hearing be conducted as soon as possible. The Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County, Gene T. Porter, Michael R. Griffin, Jerry Carr Whitehead, JJ., sentenced defendant to death. Defendant's appointed appellate counsel appealed. The Supreme Court held that: (1) narrowing of death-eligible defendants occurred, even though defendant failed to present mitigating evidence and assisted State in presentation of its case; (2) meaningful appellate review of death sentence could be conducted; (3) statute limiting power of commutation did not deny defendant chance for clemency; (4) three-judge panel used during penalty hearing did not unconstitutionally encroach on judicial power or violate defendant's right to impartial tribunal; (5) death penalty statute sufficiently narrowed categories of death-eligible defendants; (6) death penalty was not cruel and unusual punishment; and (7) death sentence was not imposed under influence of passion, prejudice, or arbitrary factor, nor was sentence excessive. Affirmed.

PER CURIAM:
On March 10, 1994, appellant Lawrence Colwell, aka Charles Durrant, and his girlfriend, Merillee Paul, were at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas. They devised a plan whereby Paul would pretend she was a prostitute, find a male victim, go with him back to his room and rob him. Seventy-six-year-old Frank Rosenstock was the unsuspecting victim of their nefarious plan. Paul went with Rosenstock back to his room and persuaded him to get into the bathtub. While he was in the bathtub, Paul searched through his belongings for money and valuables. Without success in locating anything of value, she telephoned Colwell in the hotel lobby. Colwell told her to "wait there" and he proceeded up to the room.

Colwell knocked on the door, posing as a security guard, and Paul opened the door to let him enter. Colwell showed a fake badge and told Rosenstock he was being arrested for solicitation. Colwell handcuffed Rosenstock. Colwell found Rosenstock's wallet and took it from him. The wallet contained credit cards and cash.

While Rosenstock was handcuffed, Colwell proceeded to take his belt and wrap it around Rosenstock's throat. Colwell looped the belt through the buckle and strangled Rosenstock. In the course of the strangulation, Colwell slid Rosenstock off the bed down to the floor. He had his foot on Rosenstock's shoulders as he pulled on the belt; as he did so, Colwell told Paul that it took a person six to eight minutes to die from strangulation. Colwell strangled Rosenstock for at least five minutes. Finally, when Rosenstock's face was purple and Colwell could tell he was no longer breathing, he removed the belt.

Colwell and Paul then wiped areas of the room down with wet rags to remove fingerprints. They took a number of items from the room and placed them in Rosenstock's suitcase, including the belt Colwell used to strangle Rosenstock and many other items, including glasses and ashtrays, which they might have touched. Colwell kept the buckle from the belt. When finished, they exited the room, leaving Rosenstock lying face-down and dead on the floor. The two then went to a room at the Royal Oasis Motel.

The two left Las Vegas and went to Palm Springs where they met Kenneth Abell. Colwell told Abell about killing Rosenstock. Using Abell's car, Colwell and Paul drove to Oregon. In Oregon, Paul turned herself in to the authorities. Paul eventually entered into a plea agreement with the State whereby she agreed to plead guilty to first degree murder and testify against Colwell; in exchange for this agreement, the State would recommend a sentence of life with the possibility of parole. Colwell was arrested and arraigned; the State informed the court it would not be seeking the death penalty. Colwell desired to represent himself and so a hearing was held for the purpose of canvassing Colwell pursuant to Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975). Prior to this hearing, Colwell had agreed with the State to plead guilty to all charges on the condition that the State change its position and diligently seek the death penalty. The district court filed the Notice of Intent to Seek Death Penalty.

Colwell was canvassed and allowed to represent himself. However, the court appointed standby counsel for him. Colwell was allowed to plead guilty to one count of murder in the first degree pursuant to NRS 200.010 and NRS 200.030 , and one count of robbery of a victim 65 years of age or older pursuant to NRS 193.167 and NRS 200.380 . Colwell requested that the penalty hearing be conducted as soon as possible.

During the two-day penalty hearing before a three-judge panel, Colwell failed to conduct meaningful cross-examination and in fact attempted to bring out damaging evidence that the prosecution had failed to address. In addition, Colwell made no objections to the State's evidence. In fact, Colwell's failure to make any objections was so obvious that members of the three-judge panel felt compelled to comment. Further, Colwell refused to introduce any mitigating evidence. Prior to closing arguments, the State as well as the panel explained to Colwell his right of allocution and his opportunity to present evidence. During closing argument, the State argued both the existence of seven aggravating factors and the non-existence of any mitigating evidence. Colwell's closing argument was a plea that he be put to death. Prior to sentencing, Colwell was given one final chance to introduce mitigating evidence; he declined. The panel found the existence of four of the seven alleged aggravating circumstances and found that no mitigating circumstances existed. By unanimous vote, the panel sentenced Colwell to death.

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We conclude that the death sentence was not imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice or any arbitrary factor, nor was it excessive in this case. The sentencing panel sentenced Colwell to death based upon the aggravating circumstances of the murder. The evidence supports the finding of the aggravating circumstances. Considering these circumstances and the senseless nature of the killing, the sentencing panel's decision that Colwell should be put to death was not excessive. We affirm Colwell's death sentence.

Colwell v. State, 59 P.3d 463 (Nev. 2002) (State Habeas).

Following the affirmance of his death sentence for murder, 112 Nev. 807, 919 P.2d 403, petitioner sought writ of habeas corpus. The Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County, Donald M. Mosley, J., denied the petition without holding an evidentiary hearing. Petitioner appealed. The Supreme Court held that: (1) district court judge had subject matter jurisdiction over the petition; (2) defendant's vague allegations did not establish ineffective assistance of trial counsel; and (3) United States Supreme Court's Ring decision, requiring jury rather than judge to determine aggravating circumstances for death sentencing, did not apply retroactively. Affirmed.

On March 10, 1994, appellant Lawrence Colwell and his girlfriend, Merillee Paul, robbed and murdered a seventy-six-year-old man at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas. Paul went with the victim to his room on the pretext of having sex with him. She then let Colwell into the room. He handcuffed and strangled the victim with a belt. Colwell and Paul made their way to Oregon, where Paul turned herself in to authorities. She eventually agreed to plead guilty to first-degree murder and testify against Colwell; in exchange, the State recommended she receive a sentence of life with the possibility of parole.

After Colwell was arrested and arraigned, the State informed the district court it would not be seeking the death penalty. However, Colwell offered to plead guilty to all charges if the State changed its position and sought the death penalty. The State agreed and filed a notice of intent to seek death. Colwell also sought to represent himself. After canvassing Colwell on the matter, the court allowed him to represent himself but appointed standby counsel.

Colwell pleaded guilty to murder in the first degree, burglary, and robbery of a victim 65 years of age or older. He requested that the penalty hearing be conducted as soon as possible. During a two-day penalty hearing before a three-judge panel, Colwell did not conduct meaningful cross-examination of the State's witnesses and even attempted to elicit damaging evidence not presented by the prosecution. He made no objections to the State's evidence and refused to introduce any mitigating evidence. During closing argument, the State argued the existence of seven aggravating factors and the nonexistence of any mitigating evidence. Colwell asked that he be put to death. Before returning a sentence, the panel gave Colwell another chance to introduce mitigating evidence; he declined. The panel found four aggravating circumstances, found no mitigating circumstances, and sentenced Colwell to death. This court affirmed his conviction and sentence.

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We affirm the district court's order denying Colwell's post-conviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus.