No clemency hearing for condemned man

Wed Jan 4, 7:50 PM ET

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ruled out a clemency hearing on Wednesday for the state's oldest death row prisoner, who is scheduled to be executed on January 17 for ordering three murders while serving a life sentence in prison.

Clarence Ray Allen, 75, would be the second-oldest man executed in the United States in recent decades. In December, a 77-year-old Mississippi man became the oldest prisoner executed in the United States since it resumed capital punishment in 1977.

Citing the failing health of their client, who suffered a heart attack in September, Allen's lawyers have sought to stay his execution. A federal judge last month declined their request.

The lawyers are also seeking a clemency review, where the governor would make a decision based on documents rather than on oral arguments in a hearing. Schwarzenegger has not yet made a decision on their request, an aide said.