DENVER (AP) — Attorneys for a man who killed four people at Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in 1993 have asked a federal judge to approve spending $750,000 in an effort to persuade Gov. John Hickenlooper to commute their client's death sentence.
The Denver Post reports Nathan Dunlap's attorneys want to present new evidence about the effect of Dunlap's traumatic childhood on his decision-making. Dunlap was scheduled to be executed in August 2013, but Hickenlooper gave him a temporary but indefinite reprieve to life in prison.
Judge John Kane said Wednesday that spending money earmarked for judicial proceedings in an attempt to persuade Hickenlooper would be a misuse of court funds and violates the state constitution.
Hickenlooper's spokeswoman says the governor's legal team has spoken to Dunlap's attorneys, but a decision on clemency has not yet been made.
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