Clarence is a member of the Navajo Nation. He was allegedly abused during his childhood.
In June 1977, Clarence Dixon was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, after he struck a teenage girl with a metal. Dixon was examined by two psychiatrists, who determined he was not competent to state trial. They also diagnosed him with “undifferentiated schizophrenia.” Dixon was sent to the Arizona State Hospital for competency restoration.
Six weeks later, it was determined that Dixon was competent to stand trial. Dixon chose to waive his right to a trial by jury and he was found not guilty by reason of insanity and ordered released pending civil proceedings. He was released on January 5, 1978.
On January 6, 1987, Deana, an Arizona State University student, went out to dinner with her parents. After dinner, she met a female friend at a nearby bar, where they stayed for several hours. Deana then returned to her apartment. Around 2 am on January 7, 1987, Deana’s boyfriend returned to the apartment after an evening with his brother. He discovered Deana dead on her bed.
An investigation revealed that Deana had been raped. While DNA evidence was collected, police could not get a DNA match. In 2001, police re-opened the cold case and ran the DNA profile against a national database. Police matched the DNA from the crime to that of Clarence Dixon.
Dixon was, at the time, in prison in Arizona, serving six life sentences. He had been convicted of assaulting, kidnapping, and raping a Northern Arizona University student in Flagstaff, Arizona. This case resulted in his DNA being entered into a national database, where he was eventually linking him to Deana’s murder. Dixon was charged with first-degree murder and rape. The rape charge was later dropped as it was outside the statute of limitations. In 2002, a jury found Dixon guilty and sentenced him to death. Dixon chose to represent himself during the trial and did not present mitigating evidence from his childhood.
If executed, Dixon will be the 1st execution in Arizona in approximately eight years. The last execution carried out by the state was that of Joseph Wood, whose execution took nearly 2 hours and resulted in him gasping and struggling to breathe during that time. Lawyers for Dixon are alleging that he is mentally incompetent and therefore ineligible to be executed.
Pray for the family of Deana Bowdoin. Pray for all affected by Clarence Dixon’s crimes. Please pray for strength for the family of Clarence. Pray that if Clarence is innocent, lacks the competency to be executed, or should not be executed for any other reason, that evidence will be presented before his execution. Pray that Clarence may come to find peace through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Source: theforgivenessfoundation.org, Staff, April 14, 2022
Arizona set to carry out 1st execution in nearly 8 years
"We do these not only because justice demands it, but because ultimately people who commit these types of crime deserve the ultimate punishment," Brnovich said.
The 1st scheduled execution since the summer of 2014 is set for May.
On July 23, 2014, Joseph Wood was the last inmate on Arizona's death row to be executed. Wood died by lethal injection.
The process took almost 2 hours and Wood's lawyers argued the execution was botched.
That is something Brnovich denies.
"There was an independent examination, a medical examiner," Brnovich said. "There is no facts, no evidence that this defendant suffered in any way. In fact, he was sedated the whole time."
On May 11, Clarence Dixon is set to be put to death for the murder of 21-year-old Arizona State student Deana Bowdoin in 1978.
Bowdoin was raped, strangled and stabbed to death in her Tempe apartment.
Only days ago, Dixon's lawyers filed a motion to stop the execution, saying it is unconstitutional because Dixon is mentally incompetent.
Robert Dunham is the executive director of the death penalty information center.
"Just before the murder, he was found legally insane," Dunham said. "He was acquitted of a prior offense by judge, later Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. At the time, she found him not guilty by reason of insanity. He had paranoid schizophrenia at that time and that's a disorder that does not improve, particularly if it's untreated."
Dunham argues there are problems with the way Arizona carries out the death penalty.
"From the provision of counsel to very questionable appeals," Dunham contends. "Clarence Dixon's case is an example of that. This is an individual who was severely mentally ill at the time of the trial. The jury never knew about it. The court allowed him to represent himself."
Lawyers for prisoner say he’s mentally unfit to be executed
Dixon still has some time to decide whether he wants to die by lethal injection or lethal gas.
As his lawyers and opponents look for alternatives, Brnovich stands by the state's decision.
"No one's heart should ache or break for these degenerate killers," the attorney general said. "We need to make sure justice is done and the fact it has taken decades, literally decades for these families to receive closure is heartbreaking to me."
"It's been more than four decades." Dunham said. "That's something that's going to create continuing pain for the victim's family. And giving this enough time to get it right, may mean the execution doesn't go forward in a month."
One of Dixon's attorneys, Jennifer Moreno released the following statement in regards to the execution.
"Arizona has a history of problematic executions and has not executed anyone since the horrifically mishandled execution of Joseph Wood in 2014. The State has had nearly a year to demonstrate that it will not be carrying out executions with expired drugs but has failed to do so. Under these circumstances, the execution of Mr. Dixon — a severely mentally ill, visually disabled, and physically frail member of the Navajo Nation — is unconscionable."
Source: KVOA news, Staff, April 14, 2022
Legal challenge claims Arizona clemency board is stacked with former law enforcement officers, violating law
But a legal challenge from a man on death row claims the board is filled with law enforcement and therefore inherently prejudiced against him.
After a defendant has exhausted their appeals process, and an execution date has been set, the clemency process begins.
Defendants have a hearing before the board where they can make their case for mercy.
The board then votes to make a recommendation to the governor as to whether to grant some kind of relief in the form of a “Commutation of Sentence and/or a Reprieve.” The governor can accept or deny the board’s recommendation.
Clarence Dixon, sentenced to death for the 1978 murder of Deana Bowdoin, is scheduled to go before the board on April 28. His execution is scheduled for May 11.
In a Petition for Special Action filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, Dixon’s legal team claims the Board of Executive Clemency is “illegally constituted.”
"Mr. Dixon is entitled to a fair clemency hearing before an impartial Clemency Board,” Dixon's attorney Joshua Spears said in a statement. “To ensure a fair hearing, Arizona law limits the Board to no more than two members from the same professional discipline.
“If the Board proceeds with three of its four members being law enforcement officers, it will violate Mr. Dixon's right to a fair hearing that complies with due process and the plain requirements of Arizona law," Spears said.
The 5-member board currently has one vacancy. Of the remaining 4 members, the lawsuit states that 3 members — Salvatore Freni, Louis Quinonez and Michael Johnson — are retired law enforcement officers, with a combined total of 85 years of service in law enforcement.
“The only member who has not served directly as a law enforcement officer, Board Chair Mina Mendez, served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Arizona Attorney General's Office for 6 years,” the petition notes.
The lawsuit alleges the current board composition violates state law, and requests the court “declare the selection, nomination, appointment, and confirmation of Salvatore Freni, Louis Quinonez, and Michael Johnson null and void and order Respondents to constitute a Board of Executive Clemency which complies with state law and state and federal due process.”
Dixon’s attorneys requested to postpone his clemency hearing until the case is resolved, which would necessitate postponing his execution.
A spokesperson for the Board of Executive Clemency said they don’t comment on pending litigation.
Source: Arizona Republic, Staff, April 14, 2022
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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde