Governor mulls last-ditch appeal to stop execution of Filipino national

Sunday, April 4, 1999 | 5:47 a.m.

The governor plans to review the appeal on Monday morning with his top legal adviser, Scott Scherer, before reaching a decision concerning the fate of Alvaro Calambro, Guinn spokesman Jack Finn said.

"Until that time, it's his intention for the Calambro execution to proceed as planned," Finn said.

On Saturday, the Philippine government filed an appeal with the state Pardons Board to halt the execution of Calambro, scheduled for 9 p.m. Monday.

Guinn is charged with convening the board, which consists of the governor, attorney general and seven state Supreme Court justices.

After meeting with a Philippine delegation Friday, Guinn said there was no compelling evidence to warrant a delay in the execution.

But at a news conference Saturday in Reno, Philippine officials charged the execution would violate a treaty between the countries because they were not immediately notified about Calambro's 1994 arrest by Nevada authorities.

They said they did not learn about the arrest until 1995, and the alleged violation left Calambro with inadequate legal representation.

The delegation acknowledged the appeal is the last chance to halt the execution because the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to stop it and Calambro has repeatedly said he wants to die.

Calambro and accomplice Duc Huynh were convicted for the murders of Peggy Crawford and Keith Christopher during a $2,400 robbery in January 1994 at the U-Haul business.

Crawford had a tire iron driven through her skull, while Christopher's head was crushed by repeated blows from a ball-peen hammer.

Huynh also got a death sentence, but hanged himself at Ely State Prison.

The victims' family members said there should be no more delays.

"I just want to see the conclusion," said Crawford's father, Clarence. "I've always been a law-and-order man, and I do believe in the death penalty for certain crimes. I believe the death penalty in this case should be carried out."

He plans to witness the execution along with wife Betty and daughter Carole. Christopher's brother, George, also plans to witness it.

"I will be there as the representative of my family so we can have closure," George Christopher said.

About two dozen death penalty opponents plan to hold a candlelight vigil Monday night outside the Nevada State Prison to protest the execution.

"We are joining in this vigil to express our unconditional opposition to the death penalty and our unconditional opposition to the execution of Alvaro Calambro," said Nancy Hart, Reno Amnesty International coordinator.

"Mr. Calambro is borderline retarded and suffers from serious mental illness. Although his condition does not excuse his crimes, it certainly justifies sparing his life," she said.

Since the death penalty was reinstated in Nevada in 1977, seven men have been executed, the last six by lethal injection. One woman and 84 men remain on Nevada death row.