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Fahey
A Douglas County Circuit Court judge decided Wednesday that if jurors find Paul David Fahey Jr. guilty of aggravated murder, they can also recommend he be sentenced to death.
Fahey, 37, is accused of intentionally killing his 35-year-old wife, Brenda Iverson-Fahey, by setting fire to her Roseburg home in 2004.
Judge Randy Garrison denied a series of motions filed by Fahey’s defense attorney challenging the constitutional and statutory basis of Oregon’s death penalty law.
Defense Attorney Michael Barker, for example, argued that the statewide law does not include statewide standards for when to include the penalty.
District attorneys in each county are instead at liberty to decide when they believe the penalty could be applicable, he said, which leaves open the possibility for one suspect to be treated differently than another. That is a violation of the suspect’s equal protection rights, he said.
Douglas County, he argued, has a higher rate of allowing the death penalty than other Oregon counties.
“There is no seeking to find the worst of the worst,” he said.
But Garrison disagreed, saying the defense failed to show a specific example of how suspects in similar situations have been treated differently in Douglas County.
“I think that the defense motion fails in that regard,” he said.
He also said the definition of aggravated murder — the only crime punishable by death in Oregon — is a standard in its own right because it lays out specific requirements for how the crime was committed.
Along with aggravated murder, Fahey faces charges of murder and first-degree arson. The other charges reflect the prosecution’s different theories about Fahey’s alleged actions the day Iverson-Fahey died.
Fahey’s trial is scheduled for Feb. 6.
• You can reach reporter Chelsea Duncan at 957-4246 or by e-mail at cduncan@newsreview.info.
Fahey, 37, is accused of intentionally killing his 35-year-old wife, Brenda Iverson-Fahey, by setting fire to her Roseburg home in 2004.
Judge Randy Garrison denied a series of motions filed by Fahey’s defense attorney challenging the constitutional and statutory basis of Oregon’s death penalty law.
Defense Attorney Michael Barker, for example, argued that the statewide law does not include statewide standards for when to include the penalty.
District attorneys in each county are instead at liberty to decide when they believe the penalty could be applicable, he said, which leaves open the possibility for one suspect to be treated differently than another. That is a violation of the suspect’s equal protection rights, he said.
Douglas County, he argued, has a higher rate of allowing the death penalty than other Oregon counties.
“There is no seeking to find the worst of the worst,” he said.
But Garrison disagreed, saying the defense failed to show a specific example of how suspects in similar situations have been treated differently in Douglas County.
“I think that the defense motion fails in that regard,” he said.
He also said the definition of aggravated murder — the only crime punishable by death in Oregon — is a standard in its own right because it lays out specific requirements for how the crime was committed.
Along with aggravated murder, Fahey faces charges of murder and first-degree arson. The other charges reflect the prosecution’s different theories about Fahey’s alleged actions the day Iverson-Fahey died.
Fahey’s trial is scheduled for Feb. 6.
• You can reach reporter Chelsea Duncan at 957-4246 or by e-mail at cduncan@newsreview.info.
