LINING UP TO DIE; TIME RUNNING OUT FOR 523 PRISONERS AS DAVIS TAKES HARD LINE ON EXECUTIONS.

Byline: Terri Hardy Sacramento Bureau

California is on the verge of an explosion of state-sanctioned executions, with 523 people on Death Row, a dozen cases running out of appeals and a hard-line governor in the Capitol.

Already this year, two men have been put to death under Gov. Gray Davis' watch in a state that has seen only five other executions since 1978 when capital punishment was reinstated.

While supporters of the death penalty say the death penalty reflects the public's no-nonsense attitude on crime, foes of capital punishment are increasingly troubled by estimates that as many as a dozen condemned prisoners are nearing the end of their appeals. Davis has given no indication he will soften his attitude and grant clemency except in unusual circumstances.

``We hope that the crime rate continues to fall and the governor doesn't have to carry around his load of being a serial killer,'' said Steve Birdlebough, legislative advocate for the Friends Committee on Legislation, a group opposed to the death penalty.

``We hope that the governor is successful in plans to raise the bar for people through education and is not just relying on punishment and retribution.''

Michael Bustamante, the governor's spokesman, said Davis makes no apologies for being a supporter of capital punishment.

``This is who he is and what he believes,'' Bustamante said.

Davis has carefully reviewed the two death penalty cases to come before him, and found they did not merit clemency, Bustamante said.

``This is not something he looks forward to, but it's something that comes with the job,'' Bustamante said.

Manuel Babbitt, a Purple Heart recipient with a history of mental illness who was convicted of murdering an elderly woman in 1980, was executed May 4 despite pleas from thousands of military veterans to spare his life. The situation was a delicate one for Davis, who during his gubernatorial campaign repeatedly highlighted his own service in the U.S. Army in Vietnam.

Babbitt was executed three months after Jaturun Siripongs, a Thai Buddhist priest, was put to death on Feb. 9 for a 1981 double murder. It was argued that at the time of his arrest he was not advised of his rights to consult with officials from his country and was not given fair representation by his attorney.

Legal experts and political observers say Davis had no other choice politically but to deny clemency in the two cases.

``Unless it was a case of factual innocence, it wouldn't have mattered much at all,'' said Franklin Zimring, a professor of law at the University of California at Berkeley.

Tough stance

Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political analyst, said Davis had to establish his law-and-order credentials and couldn't risk the backlash suffered by other politicians who were viewed as soft on the death penalty.

``The politically astute thing for the governor to do right out of the box is to confirm his credibility as a supporter of the death penalty,'' Jeffe said. ``If Manny Babbitt had been the fourth or fifth person to come before Davis, he may well have had a chance for his sentence to be commuted.''

Bustamante, the governor's spokesman, said to claim that Davis' decisions on clemency have been steered by politics was ``utter folly.''

``This isn't an issue of politics; it's an issue of law,'' he said.

Zimring, however, said clemency is what happens ``after legal actions have ended'' and is an act of mercy triggered by personal belief and, often, by political considerations.

He said it will not be politically feasible for the governor to commute a death sentence for at least two years.

``It's a matter of telling the next few guys up for clemency that they shouldn't take it personally,'' Zimring said.

Who's next?

By the end of the year, law enforcement officials believe that another man - Darrell Keith Rich of Redding - could face execution for kidnappings, murders and sexual offenses against several young women in Northern California in the late 1970s.

Prosecutors are awaiting the outcome of two other cases that have been argued in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the last legal venues for condemned prisoners, said Dane Gillette, senior assistant attorney general.

Michael Anthony Jackson of Los Angeles fatally shot a police officer in the head in West Covina in 1983. Demetrie Ladon Mayfield of San Bernardino killed a man and woman in 1983.

``By the end of the year, we are going to see a substantially larger number of cases going to the 9th Circuit,'' Gillette said.

Davis clearly voiced support for the death penalty during his campaign for governor, breaking ranks with some of his fellow Democrats. Davis flatly stated his belief that people convicted of murder should serve, at minimum, a life sentence.

Still, the governor's hard-line approach has come as somewhat of a surprise to capital punishment critics, Birdlebough said. Many hoped that a Democratic governor would impose a bigger shift in policy following 16 years of Republicans in the Governor's Office.

In his first months at the helm, Davis ignored an invitation to meet with religious leaders to discuss his process for evaluating clemency appeals. And he did not withdraw any of Wilson's unconfirmed appointments to the Board of Prison Terms.

``A lot of people are realizing that the governor wasn't kidding,'' Birdlebough said. Capital punishment opponents hoped that Davis would at least look closely at the issue, but ``we now see he's not interested in putting his own stamp on the process.''

Further, Davis has supported an initiative that would expand the types of murders that would carry death penalty sentences, including those with kidnapping, arson and lying in wait as extenuating circumstances. The measure will appear on the March 2000 ballot.

Pete Kossoris, senior attorney for the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, who helped draft the initiative, applauds the governor's position on capital punishment.

Death penalty support

California residents overwhelmingly support the death penalty - polls show approval rates of between 75 percent and 80 percent - and the governor is wise to uphold their wishes, Kossoris said.

``It's to Davis' credit that his actions support his public stance that he believes in capital punishment and will not coddle criminals,'' Kossoris said. ``He made the right decision on the two clemency cases; they weren't even borderline. It's about time that people start taking responsibility for what they do.''

Kossoris said his biggest fear is that Davis will be pressured by other Democrats to appoint liberal judges who could overturn death penalty convictions.

Birdlebough said it had been the practice of governors to commute about one-third of all clemency requests. But Republican Gov. George Deukmejian, who was elected in 1982 on a tough-on-crime platform, changed that pattern. He was followed in 1990 by another member of the GOP, Pete Wilson, whose aspirations for the presidency, according to his critics, prevented him from going against public opinion.

Because politics is intertwined with the death penalty, said Birdlebough, opponents will launch an intensive lobbying effort to defeat two capital punishment measures on the March ballot.

``Davis may not be swayed, but it's essential in getting any change to have the public wake up,'' Birdlebough said.