Atwood maintained his innocence even after all appeals were exhausted. He claims police have planted evidence, including testimony that pink paint on the front bumper of Atwood’s car was “from the victim’s bike or some other source just like the bike” and that Vicki’s bike had nickel particles attached to metal from the Car matched bumper.
“There is no way I want to cause undue delay,” wrote Conover Brnovich. “But I think we will all be well served if we temporarily withhold death sentences from Pima cases while we let history rest here out of the old murder and capital units.”
Brnovich refused her request.
Part of it, he wrote, is that the Atwood case was handled by someone in his office rather than Pima County, “which makes your proposed review of this case unnecessary and out of date.”
However, that is only partially true.
John Davis actually started working on the case when he was assistant attorney for Pima County. He was allowed to continue working on the case when he went to the Attorney General’s office.
Brnovich also hit her in his reply to Conover because she had made the request in the first place.
“I am concerned that your letter is less about an internal review than about ending the death penalty in general,” he said, noting that she was campaigning for a platform to end the death penalty. Brnovich said it was her right as a prosecutor to decide when to apply for the death penalty.
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