ATLANTA - The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has scheduled a new clemency hearing Friday for Wallce Fugate III. <br>
<br>
The man was granted a stay of execution after an ethics scandal led to the resignations of two board members. <br>
<br>
The 52-year-old Fugate was convicted of fatally shooting his ex-wife in 1991. <br>
<br>
But Fugate's attorneys contend the board - which asked the Georgia Supreme Court to overturn the stay - has become adversarial to the Putnam County killer through its appeal of his stay. <br>
<br>
Stephen Bright, Fugate's attorney and director of the Southern Center for Human Rights, says as a result, the board should not conduct the hearing until the litigation is resolved and a new execution date set. <br>
<br>
Last month, Fulton County Superior Court Judge John Goger ordered Fugate's execution stayed pending a clemency hearing before a full, five-member board. The Georgia Supreme Court upheld Goger's order. <br>
<br>
The board then asked the high court to reconsider. <br>
<br>
Thursday, the board said it was withdrawing its appeal and having a hearing with the new, full board Saturday - a move Bright called ``totally inappropriate.'' <br>
<br>
The paroles board is working to repair the damage caused by the sudden resignation of two long-time members plagued by ethics questions. <br>
<br>
Governor Barnes has named Buddy Nix, former director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and Mike Light to the board, replacing former Chairman Walter Ray and Bobby Whitworth. <br>
<br>
Fugate's lawyers also are asking the Supreme Court to rule on whether all five members of the board must vote on clemency issues. Three votes are needed for clemency.
