Campbell

Charles Rodman Campbell was convicted in 1982 of three counts of aggravated first-degree murder and sentenced to death. We consider en bane the denial of Campbell’s second federal habeas corpus petition. We affirm the district court and provide for the dissolution of the stay of execution pending appeal.

I

We begin with an overview of the procedural and factual background of Campbell’s conviction and his current and prior petitions for post-conviction relief.

A

Campbell was convicted of three counts of aggravated murder and sentenced to death. The Washington Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence. State v. Campbell, 103 Wash.2d 1 , 691 P.2d 929 (1984). The Snohomish County Superior Court issued a death warrant scheduling Campbell’s execution for March 29, 1985. The Washington Supreme Court stayed the execution to allow Campbell to petition the United States Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari. The Supreme Court denied certiorari on April 29, 1985. Campbell v. Washington, 471 U.S. 1094 , 105 S.Ct. 2169 , 85 L.Ed.2d 526 (1985).

A second death warrant issued on May 17, 1985, setting Campbell’s execution for July 25, 1985. Campbell moved the Washington Supreme…

with whom Circuit Judges BROWNING, TANG, and D.W. NELSON join, concurring and dissenting:

Table of Contents

Overview. 692

I. Evolving Standards of Decency . 695

A. Legal Standards. 695

1. General Principles. 695

2. Specific Factors. 696

B. The Objective Evidence That Society Has Rejected Hanging. 697

C. . The Inconsistency of Hanging with Human Dignity. 700

D. The Majority’s Evisceration of the Eighth Amendment. 703

(1) The Absence of Any Rational Basis for the Majority’s Approach... 703

(2) The Majority’s Deliberate Disregard of Precedent. 706

(3) The Pernicious Consequences of the Majority’s Rule. 708

E. Summary . 708

II. Unnecessary and Wanton Pain. 708

A. Legal Standards. 709

B. Analysis. 711

1. The Compelling Evidence Regarding the Existence of Pain. 712

2. The Lack of Probativeness of the Washington Protocol. 714

3. The District Court’s Perverse Refusal to Consider Evidence Regarding

Alternative Methods of Execution. 715

III. Conclusion. 716

Appendix A. 717

Appendix B. 726

Overview

“The present mode of executing criminals by hanging has come down to us from the dark ages, and it may well be questioned whether the science of the present day cannot…

dissenting:

I believe that death by hanging inflicts intolerably cruel and unusual punishment, however heinous the crime; that it is unacceptable today as would be the rack and screw; and therefore is in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.

I therefore dissent.

18 F.3d 662 62 USLW 2522 Charles Rodman CAMPBELL, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Tana WOOD, * Superintendent, Washington State Penitentiary, Walla Walla, Washington; Christine O. Gregoire, ** Attorney General, State of Washington, Respondents-Appellees. No. 89-35210. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Jan. 20, 1993. Submission Withdrawn Jan. 29, 1993. Submitted Nov. 5, 1993. Decided Feb. 8, 1994. Charles Rodman Campbell, pro per, Walla Walla, Washington. James E. Lobsenz, Carney, Bradley, Smith & Spellman, Seattle, Washington, for the petitioner-appellant. Paul D. Weisser, Assistant Attorney General, John M. Jones, Assistant Attorney General, Olympia, Washington, for the respondents-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. Before: WALLACE, Chief Judge, BROWNING, TANG, POOLE, D.W. NELSON, REINHARDT, BEEZER, WIGGINS, THOMPSON, O'SCANNLAIN, and KLEINFELD, Circuit Judges. BEEZER, Circuit Judge: 1 Charles Rodman Campbell was convicted in 1982 of three counts of aggravated first-degree murder and sentenced to death. We consider en banc the denial of Campbell's second federal habeas corpus petition. We…