SALEM, Ore., May 10 (UPI) -- A condemned prisoner has sent a letter to an Oregon court asking that appeals of his death sentence be dropped.
The letter was sent by Gary Haugen to the state court administrator and could clear the way for the first execution in the state since 1997.
In the letter, Haugen complained about the judicial system and asked the court to "at least respect my will and initiate the process for execution A.S.A.P," The (Portland) Oregonian said Tuesday.
The newspaper said the letter indicates that Haugen will formally waive his appeal at a hearing in Marion County Friday.
A court spokesman, however, said the letter was not a definitive expression of a wish to be put to death. "It's not cut and dried that because Mr. Haugen has said he does not wish to pursue appeals in the past that he will not or cannot change his mind," said Phillip Lemman, a spokesman for the Oregon Judicial Department.
Haugen, 49, was imprisoned for the 1981 murder of his ex-girlfriend's mother in Portland. He and another inmate were sentenced to death in 2007 for killing a fellow prisoner.
