Dragging death in Texas raises racial tensions

Friday's PIAA football scores

<b>First Posted:</b> 1/26/2008<br><br>By Terrie Morgan-Besecker tmorgan@www.timesleader.comLaw &amp; Order Reporter 


WILKES-BARRE &amp;ndash; A Luzerne County judge on Friday issued a stay of execution for convicted child-killer Michael Bardo, but how long the reprieve will remain in effect is uncertain.
Senior Judge Patrick Toole issued the stay to allow Bardo&amp;rsquo;s attorneys, Stephen Menn and Paul Galante, time to review records and prepare an appeal. Whether Bardo has a right to file that appeal remains in dispute.
Assistant District Attorney Scott Gartley opposed the stay, arguing it was premature because Bardo has not officially filed his appeal.
But Menn noted the defense was given until March 6 to file the appeal. If Toole did not grant the stay, the appeal would be a moot point because Bardo&amp;rsquo;s execution was scheduled for Feb. 28.
 Toole agreed and granted the stay, saying he would rather &amp;ldquo;err on the side of caution.&amp;rdquo;
Bardo has been on death row since 1992, when he was convicted of molesting and murdering his 3-year-old niece, Joelle Donovan. He filed several appeals in state court following the conviction, all of which were denied.
Bardo is seeking to file an appeal in county court under the state&amp;rsquo;s Post Conviction Relief Act, a legal procedure that allows a defendant to raise issues that were not previously reviewed by state appellate courts. 
There is a question as to whether Bardo met the time limit within which a PCRA appeal must be filed, however.
State law requires a PCRA appeal to be filed within one year following the final state appellate court ruling on a case. For Bardo, that was 1998.
But Bardo&amp;rsquo;s case presents a unique situation because an oversight within the Luzerne County Court system caused all review of his case to cease in 1998.
That&amp;rsquo;s when Toole, who presided over Bardo&amp;rsquo;s trial, was ordered by the state Supreme Court to reconsider his denial of Bardo&amp;rsquo;s request to appoint new attorneys to represent Bardo in his appeals.
The problem is Toole never received a copy of that order. Because of that, he never appointed new attorneys and the case was at a standstill for nearly nine years. No one within the court system realized that until it was brought to Toole&amp;rsquo;s attention in October by a reporter who was investigating the delay.
Menn said Friday he intends to argue the delay should not count against Bardo because it was not his fault. That&amp;rsquo;s one of several issues he said he will raise.
The stay issued by Toole will remain in effect at least until that matter is resolved. Menn and Galante must still file the PCRA petition by March 6. Prosecutors then have 60 days to respond.

    

Terrie Morgan-Besecker, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7179.

Execution of Bardo put on hold