With a signature on a piece of paper, convicted quadruple murderer Nathan Dunlap's life was spared. For now. Because Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a "temporary reprieve" in 2013, Dunlap's 1996 death sentence still has not been carried out. That's painful for many of the loved ones of the four restaurant workers Dunlap shot to death. It also upsets the sole survivor of the shooting, Bobby Stephens. "It's not fair," Stephens told KRDO TV. Precedent on temporary reprieves is murky. No one knows for sure when the reprieve may be lifted, and Colorado hasn't executed anyone since 1997. Hickenlooper, a Democrat, won a re-election bid in November, likely delaying Dunlap's execution for at least another four years.
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Convicted quadruple murderer's execution on hold, but a new governor could push it forward
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In 1993, Nathan Dunlap shot four Chuck E. Cheese workers to death in Aurora, Colorado
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Gov. John Hickenlooper gave Dunlap an indefinite "temporary reprieve" from death sentence
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The killing sparked statewide debate about how to punish society's worst criminals
"Because of that and the horrible things I did, I don't feel I have the right to ask for clemency," Dunlap wrote in a letter to the governor, reportedly saying,"I'd like to spare my family and friends from the same pain that I caused the victims' families and @placeholder and his family and friends."