Convicted killer appeals to give life to others

December 3, 1995
Web posted at: 10:58 p.m. EST

From Correspondent Loretta Lepore

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Larry Lonchar was on his way to Georgia's electric chair last June when the U.S. Supreme Court stayed his execution for an unusual appeal.

The Supreme Court, which is to hear his appeal Monday, will be asked to decide whether Lonchar is a convict with a heart of gold who wants only enough time to donate his organs, or a conniving con who wants only to avoid execution.

Sentenced to die in 1987 for killing three people over a gambling debt, Lonchar had previously resisted efforts by his family to appeal his conviction. He said he wanted to die.

But earlier this year, Lonchar did appeal, not because he changed his mind about dying but because he said he wants to help the families of those he killed.

"Not only are they doing me a favor by putting me out of my pain and suffering," Lonchar said, "the victims' families want this. It's the least I can do for them." (111K AIFF sound or 111K WAV sound)

In Georgia, execution is by electrocution only. The electric chair, Lonchar argued, would destroy his organs and render them useless. He said he wants only to live long enough for the Georgia legislature to change the law to allow for execution by lethal injection. Such a proposal is expected to come before the Georgia legislature, but not before it meets next year. The aim of the bill is to speed up a judicial process that some say is being manipulated by prisoners.

"We've got people calling from California, who are going to be dead in six months, who will be alive possibly if they could receive Larry Lonchar's organs."

-- John Matteson, Lonchar's attorney

Some say Lonchar is only looking for a way to delay his death. Among them, Georgia's attorney general who called Lonchar's appeal "baloney."

"That's the question: When should he die for having committed the heinous crime he committed," said Georgia Attorney General Mike Bowers. "Has he abused the system, is the specific question we're going to focus on before the U.S. Supreme Court."

Even if the courts side with Lonchar, there is uncertainty as to whether donor agencies would accept his organs.

Bobbi Beatty, executive director of LifeLink, an organ donor group, said, "In a case like this, the difference would be the ability of the donor to be declared brain dead."

"Not only are they doing me a favor by putting me out of my pain and suffering, the victims' families want this. It's the least I can do for them."

-- Larry Lonchar

A doctor must make that declaration. But the American Medical Association's ordered ethics guidelines state: "A physician, as a member of a profession dedicated to preserving life when there is hope of doing so, should not be a participant in a legally authorized execution."

Lonchar's attorney John Matteson said, "We've got people calling from California, who are going to be dead in six months, who will be alive possibly if they could receive Larry Lonchar's organs." (94K AIFF sound or 94K WAV sound)

So, while the Supreme Court is determining Lonchar's fate, it may also be deciding the fate of many others.

Convicted killer appeals to give life to others

"We've got people calling from California, who are going to be dead in six months, who will be alive possibly if they could receive Larry Lonchar's organs."

"Not only are they doing me a favor by putting me out of my pain and suffering, the victims' families want this. It's the least I can do for them."

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