A CALL FROM THE GOVERNOR IN VIRGINIA

Swisher Sweet....

Governor Postpones Swisher Execution

The highlights from WaPo...

Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) yesterday postponed the execution of Bobby Wayne Swisher just hours before the convicted killer was to enter the death chamber.

Warner did not grant clemency for Swisher, but he said the execution should be halted to give defense attorneys time to argue before the state Supreme Court that jurors might not have known that they could choose a sentence of life in prison.

Swisher, 27, who kidnapped, raped and killed a young mother in Augusta County in 1997, had been scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 9 p.m. Defense attorneys had asked Warner for clemency, arguing that the verdict form used by the jury was flawed.