FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Attorney General Jack Conway requested
Monday that execution dates be set for three convicted murderers on
Kentucky's death row, including one whose case questioned the use
of lethal injection nationwide.

Conway sent letters to Gov. Steve Beshear asking for execution
dates for Ralph Baze Jr., Robert Foley and Gregory Wilson, whose
appeals have been exhausted in state and federal courts.

"There are no remaining legal impediments to the finality of
these death sentences," Conway said in a statement. "The horrific
crimes these men committed have taken an enormous toll on the
victims' families, for whom this may bring closure."

Baze was convicted of the 1992 murders of Powell County Sheriff
Steve Bennett and Deputy Arthur Briscoe. A jury found that Baze
gunned down the lawmen with an assault rifle when they attempted to
arrest him on five felony charges.

Baze was the lead plaintiff in a case the U.S. Supreme Court
used in 2008 to rule that the lethal injection protocol used by
nearly three-dozen states did not amount to cruel and unusual
punishment. He charged that state officials did not properly
implement a new execution protocol in 2004.

Foley was convicted of the 1991 murders of brothers Rodney
Vaughn and Lynn Vaughn in Laurel County. A jury found that Foley
shot Rodney Vaughn six times at close range, then shot Lynn Vaughn
execution-style in the back of the head.

Wilson was convicted of the 1987 kidnapping, rape and murder of
Deborah Pooley in Kenton County.

Spokeswoman Kerri Richardson said the governor has received
Conway's requests.

"The governor will carefully review each request and examine
the legal status of each case before making any determination on
execution dates," Richardson said.

Ed Monahan, head of the Kentucky Office of Public Advocacy, said
all three of the inmates have litigation pending in either state or
federal courts. He said he has sent a letter to Conway asking him
to withdraw the requests and a letter to Beshear asking him not to
sign any death warrants until after an independent review is
conducted of the state's use of the death penalty.

"We want to make sure there are no unjust executions," Monahan
said.

Kentucky has executed three people since 1976. Harold McQueen
was electrocuted in 1997 for killing a convenience store clerk in
1981. Eddie Lee Harper died by lethal injection in 1999. Marco
Allen Chapman also died by lethal injection in November.

Conway's call for execution dates came on the same day that a
group of Kentucky lawyers asked for a moratorium on executions.
Louisville attorney Jason Nemes, former head of the Administrative
Office of the Courts and spokesman for the group, said no
executions should be scheduled until after the American Bar
Association evaluates the use of the death penalty in Kentucky.

Nemes said the American Bar Association already has appointed a
team to conduct the evaluation, which would likely take about two
years to complete.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)