Marco Allen Chapman, a death row inmate in Kentucky, may soon get his wish: to die. Chapman will be the first person executed in Kentucky since 1999. Brett Barrouquere, from the San Francisco Chronicle, reports Chapman has waited more than three years for the courts to consider an appeal he never wanted. He was convicted for stabbing two children after a two-day crack binge. “I did something that was immoral and wrong. I want to pay the price for it.” confessed Chapman. He says because of his Christian upbringing he’d rather the state kill him so he’s not committing suicide. He is scheduled to be executed June 3.

High School to Blame for Student's Murder Public defender, William Quest, holds E.O. Green Junior High partly responsible for Oxnard student Lawrence King’s death as reported by Catherine Saillant in the L.A. Times. The defendant, 14-year-old Brandon McInerney, was arraigned yesterday for murdering King with a handgun, allegedly because the victim had been flirting with him. Quest suggests that school administrators were so caught up trying to make King comfortable with his sexuality that they overlooked the chaos his behavior was causing. Ventura County prosecutors intend to try McInerney as an adult.

Murderer Challenges Cold Hit: Dennis Nelson was identified by a cold DNA hit as the person who raped and murdered a 19 year old Sacramento girl in 1976. He is asking the California Supreme Court to overturn his conviction because so much time had passed since the crime occurred, he claims he could not present an adequate defense. The Los Angeles times story by Maura Dolan reports on yesterday's oral argument where Nelson's attorney lamented that presenting a adequate defense was impossible because over the years evidence had been lost and memories have faded. That's kinda what happens when a federal judge overturns a conviction or sentence over some procedural error two decades after the trial. The DA is unable to retry the case and the defendant gets on the DPIC innocence list.