Ugly clemency sparring in California

As I have mentioned before, California’s scheduled execution of Michael Morales in less than two weeks is interesting to watch because of a brewing scrum over the constitutionality of lethal injection (background here and here).  But this news article highlights that the case is also heating up through dueling claims in the clemency papers submitted to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger:

Convicted killer Michael Morales’ attorneys, including Clinton prosecutor Kenneth Starr, used a forged document in their bid for clemency, prosecutors said Monday — a claim the defense vehemently denied.

Additional and related developments on the clemency front in the Morales case are available from the Los Angeles Times, from the AP, from the Lodi News-Sentinel and from the San Francisco Chronicle.

UPDATE:  The LA Times on Thursday has this lengthy article discussing the lethal injection litigation in the Morales case and the broader story of constitutional challenges to lethal injection protocols.