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| Inmate's Illness May Cheat Death Penalty Imposed in 1986 |
| By Rocky Mountain News |
| Published: 03/11/2002 |
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Colorado will never execute longtime death row inmate Frank Rodriguez, his lawyer says. Rodriguez, convicted in the 1984 rape and stabbing death of Denver bookkeeper Lorraine Martelli, is dying of hepatitis C, sources said. 'The legal system wasn't getting the job done, so I guess God has taken over,' Martelli's sister, Antoinette Massimino said. Rodriguez, 45, was hospitalized in Pueblo on last week with liver disease brought on by the hepatitis, but after his condition stabilized, he was transferred to the Department of Corrections' hospital facility in Canon City. Doctors have given Rodriguez only months to live, but the state is not close to carrying out his death sentence. His appeal is pending before the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Defense attorney David Lane would not confirm that Rodriguez is suffering from hepatitis C, but he is adamant that his client will never be put to death by the state. Rodriguez was sentenced to death nearly 16 years ago and is one of six men on Colorado's death row. Rodriguez was expected to be the next Colorado death row inmate to be executed. Contacted at his office, Craig Silverman, who prosecuted the Rodriguez case, said he is disturbed that the wheels of justice have turned so slowly. |
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