Condemned killer wants a burger

Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2004 | 9:37 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Convicted killer Terry J. Dennis doesn't want to talk to any clergy on the night of his execution Thursday, but he does want two cheeseburgers and a Coke.

Dennis, 57, met with his brother, Gary Dennis, and has seen a few friends, said Fritz Schlottman, acting administrator of offender management for the Nevada Department of Corrections.

Schlottman said Terry Dennis has remained in his cell and does not go out in the yard. And Dennis has "made it very clear" he doesn't want to talk to representatives of the press or religious groups.

Dennis pleaded guilty to strangling 51-year-old Ilona Strumanis in a Reno motel after several days of drinking. He said she had questioned his claim that he was able to kill anybody while in Vietnam, so he started to strangle her with a belt and then choked her with his hands.

He has refused appeals on his behalf, saying he did not want to spend the rest of his life in prison. The U.S. public defender's office has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the execution on grounds Dennis is not mentally capable of making the decision to die.

Prior efforts to stop the execution have failed in U.S. District Court and in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Nevada Coalition Against the Death Penalty planned a press conference in Reno today and will conduct a candlelight vigil outside Nevada State Prison 90 minutes before the scheduled 9 p.m. execution by lethal injection.

"Even though Mr. Dennis is pursuing his desire to give up his available appeals, we believe that it is wrong for the state of Nevada to kill him, in part because there are serious issues regarding his mental competence," said Nancy Hart, president of the coalition.

"We deeply sympathize with all those who have lost relatives or friends due to violent crime, especially the family and loved ones" of the victim in this case, Hart said. "However, killing is not the solution to violence and does not promote true healing."

Hart also said there is concern with the rising number of people on death row who have given up their right to appeals. Nine of the 10 people executed in Nevada since the death penalty was reinstated in 1977 have abandoned their court appeals.

Dr. Thomas Bittker, a psychiatrist, examined Dennis in November last year as part of a court hearing to determine if he was mentally competent. Bittker concluded that Dennis had a full understanding of what the death penalty involves and knew the legal options.

Bittker also said Dennis has a history of psychiatric problems brought on by alcohol, amphetamines and cocaine dependence. Dennis also had tried to kill himself several times.