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Complaints filed in Conn. execution delay

HARTFORD, Conn., April 28 (UPI) -- Formal complaints have been filed against a federal judge regarding conduct during phone conferences about a possible stay of execution in Connecticut.

Senior Assistant State's Attorney Harry Weller confirmed to the Hartford (Conn.) Courant that he and six other prosecutors filed complaints with the clerk of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. The complaints, which are sealed, are in response to actions by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny while considering a stay of execution for confessed serial killer Michael Ross.

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The Courant said transcripts of teleconferences in January -- including one less than 12 hours before a scheduled execution of Ross -- indicated the judge berated attorneys for not convincing the convict to try to stop the execution.

Chatigny also questioned whether Ross should have even been convicted in the case.

Ross, who has asked that appeals in his case be dropped, confessed to killing nine girls and women, ranging in age from 14 to 25, in the early 1980s. His execution is scheduled for May 11. He would be the first person put to death in Connecticut since 1960.

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