Oregon Governor Appeals Clemency Refusal Ruling

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Gov. John Kitzhaber is appealing a judge's ruling that he has no authority to issue a reprieve from the death penalty for a condemned inmate who has rejected the governor's clemency. A trial-court judge in Marion County ruled last month that convicted murderer Gary Haugen must accept a reprieve for it to be valid. Haugen had been scheduled to die by lethal injection last December when Kitzhaber stepped in and blocked it. Kitzhaber says he won't allow executions while he's governor.