Group plans protest of Thursday execution

The Nevada Coalition Against the Death Penalty will hold a candlelight vigil to protest the execution of Terry Dennis scheduled later this week.

Nancy Hart, president of the coalition, said the group is unconditionally opposed to the planned Thursday execution.

"Even though Mr. Dennis is pursuing his desire to give up his available appeals, we believe it is wrong for the state of Nevada to kill him, in part because there are serious issues regarding his mental competence," she said.

Public defenders are taking Dennis's case to the U.S Supreme Court in an attempt to win the right to intervene in the case, despite the convict's opposition and his stated desire to give up on any appeals.

The candlelight vigil will be held beginning at 7:30 p.m. outside the Nevada State Prison on Fifth Street. Dennis is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 9 p.m.

Dennis was convicted by a Reno jury for the March 1999 strangling of Ilona Straumanis. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to die by a three-judge panel.

"Basically, I took a life, and I'm ready to pay for that with mine," said Dennis, 57, when he abandoned his state court appeal in March.

He has requested two cheeseburgers and a Coke for his last meal.

If executed, Dennis will be the 11th Nevada inmate put to death since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death sentence in 1977. The most recent execution was Lawrence Colwell, 34, who was put to death March 26.

An execution date was announced Tuesday by Director of Corrections Jackie Crawford for Robert Ybarra Jr. who was convicted for raping and murdering a 16-year-old girl in White Pine County in 1979. Execution was set for Aug. 27.

However, the federal public defender's office has already filed federal court motions to stop the execution, citing several outstanding legal issues in the case. The Nevada Attorney General's Office indicated late Tuesday it will not oppose that motion.

Contact Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.