[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----INDIANA

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 10



INDIANA:

Ind. Death Row Inmate Found Dead in Cell


A death row inmate convicted of fatally shooting a state trooper during a
traffic stop was found dead in his cell on Saturday, 10 months after being
spared execution.

An Indiana State Prison guard found Norman Timberlake, 60, of New Albany,
unresponsive in his cell during a head count shortly after midnight,
prison spokesman Barry Nothstine said. Attempts to revive him failed.

''Timberlake was sitting upright watching television but did not respond
to verbal communication from an officer,'' Nothstine said in a news
release.

Timberlake appeared to have died from natural causes, and an autopsy was
planned for Tuesday, Nothstine said.

The prison spokesman said he was unaware of any medical conditions that
might have contributed to Timberlake's death.

A state psychiatrist who examined Timberlake last year found that he
suffered from chronic paranoid schizophrenia, but it was unclear Saturday
whether that played a role in his death.

Timberlake was convicted of shooting Master Trooper Michael Greene once in
the chest in Indianapolis in 1993. Greene, 43, had stopped when he saw
Timberlake's companion urinating along Interstate 65. A jury convicted
Timberlake 2 years later.

Indiana State Police had no comment on Timberlake's death, and Greene's
family expressed relief that the case had finally come to an end, said 1st
Sgt. Dave Bursten.

''They're glad it's over,'' Bursten said after speaking to the slain
trooper's son, Mike Greene.

Timberlake was scheduled to die by chemical injection last Jan. 19, but 2
days ahead of the execution date, the Indiana Supreme Court blocked the
sentence because a similar case from Texas also involving a mentally ill
prisoner had come under review by the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court
ultimately blocked the Texas execution.

During an appearance before the Indiana Parole Board on his request for
clemency ahead of his scheduled execution, Timberlake said he has been
hearing voices since 1997 from someone who identified himself as Satan.

Dr. George F. Parker, a psychiatrist who examined Timberlake for the state
last year, said he suffered from chronic paranoid schizophrenia and
believed he was tortured by a computer-driven machine operated by prison
officials.

(source: Associated Press)