Death Row Inmate Fights Attorneys: He Wants to Die

Gary Haugen, an Oregon death row inmate, is a twice-convicted murderer who has been in prison for almost 30 years. He has been on death row since 2007 after he was convicted of killing another inmate in 2003, according to the Salem Statesman Journal.

"It is my right to waive all appeals and die with dignity," Haugen said in the new letters, the latest in a series of writings to the Oregon Supreme Court, expressing his desire to be executed.

Haugen's execution indefinitely was put on hold Wednesday, when a Marion County judge agreed to follow the direction of the state Supreme Court to evaluate Haugen's mental competence before deciding whether to grant his request to be put to death.

Haugen leveled his complaints against attorneys Andy Simrin and Keith Goody in two letters delivered this week to the Oregon Supreme Court. The recently Statesman Journal obtained the documents. Because he is at odds with his attorneys, Haugen wrote, he is left to fend for himself on legal matters connected to his case.

"Their vision for me is my greatest enemy — for they only want to see me rot in prison for life," he wrote.

To read more: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20110708/NEWS/107080343/Death-row-inmate-says-lawyers-defy-his-wishes?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CNews