With only 30 days until Roberto Arguelles is scheduled to die before a Utah firing squad, one attorney is intensifying his efforts to save the serial killer's life.

Ironically, though, Ed Brass does not represent Arguelles. In fact, he may not even have legal standing to file the handful of motions he filed late Wednesday on behalf of the death-row inmate.

Brass was appointed to act as stand-by counsel after Arguelles insisted on representing himself throughout his prosecution. Brass was again appointed as an advocate for the court during Arguelles' mandatory appeal to the Utah Supreme Court.

However, he was released from the case after Arguelles' conviction was upheld early this year and admits he doesn't know if he has the authority to file motions to delay Arguelles' scheduled June 27 execution.

"Someone's got to raise this issue, and I feel it's gotta be me," Brass said. "I'm going to pursue every angle until someone says I have to stop."

Brass plans to argue his case at a June 4 hearing before 3rd District Judge Michael Burton. At that hearing, the Utah Attorney General's Office is expected to take the position that Brass does not have standing in the case.

Assistant Attorney General Thomas Brunker said it's unusual to see someone not directly related to a death-penalty case file such motions. "I've never seen in any of the cases since (Gary) Gilmore anyone trying to intervene on behalf of the person sentenced to death."

Brass said his main motivation is to make sure the proper process is followed in all death-penalty cases.

"My fear is that every time we execute a person it becomes easier to do it next time," he said. "I would think that people who were pro-death penalty would want to make sure that the proper procedures are being followed."

Arguelles, 41, was convicted in 1992 for the rape and murders of four Utah females, three of them teenagers. He has asked the court to put him to death since 1997, refusing even any contact with Brass during his appeal to the Utah Supreme Court.

This week's filings raise new questions about Arguelles' mental state and ask for another evaluation into his competency. He passed a mental health evaluation in May 2000, prompted by a 1998 suicide attempt.

Among the filings is an affidavit from Salt Lake public defender Karen Stam, who represented Arguelles at the outset of his prosecution but was disqualified early in the case.

Stam visited Arguelles in prison on May 15, two weeks after 3rd District Judge Michael Burton signed Arguelles' death warrant. At that May 1 hearing, Arguelles had to be removed from the courtroom three times because of his combative behavior.

Throughout his nearly incoherent ramblings, Arguelles repeatedly said Stam was still his attorney and insisted that she be present.

In her affidavit, Stam said Arguelles' behavior during their meeting is an about-face from his demeanor when she represented him, at which time he was "always extremely polite and respectful."

"During the course of this three-hour visit, Arguelles yelled in an extremely loud voice almost the entire time, using extremely unrefined language, repeating himself over and over, and behaving in an highly agitated manner I had never witnessed in him before," the affidavit states.

Arguelles repeated many of the things he said at the May 1 hearing, including allegations that prison guards were lacing his food with laxatives and force-feeding him evaporated foods that caused his heart to stop beating. He also reiterated his belief that the hearing was fake and was staged by the prison staff to trick him.

Arguelles also told Stam "that he was a long way off from being executed and would outlive everyone in the prison."

Brass also takes issue with that May 1 hearing, which he argues violated Arguelles' right to due process and his fundamental right to be present throughout the entire hearing.

The motion to vacate Arguelles' death warrant also challenges Burton's decision not to appoint an attorney to represent Arguelles.

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Earlier this week, 6th District Judge David Mower stayed the execution of Troy Kell, which was originally scheduled for June 28, just one day after Arguelles' execution. Both have chosen to die by firing squad.

Kell's death warrant was stricken after his attorneys filed a petition claiming Kell was inadequately represented both at trial and during his automatic appeal of his conviction before the Utah Supreme Court.

Kell, 34, was sentenced to die for the July 1994 slaying of fellow inmate, Lonnie Blackmon. Kell was serving a life sentence when he stabbed Blackmon 67 times with a homemade knife.


E-mail: awelling@desnews.com

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