Grand Canyon Times

The Arizona Board of Executive Clemency recently denied Frank Atwood's request for commutation, reprieve, or pardon of his death sentence in a unanimous vote.

Atwood is scheduled to be executed on June 8 for the 1987 kidnapping and murder of 8-year-old Vicki Lynne Hoskinson in Pima County, according to AzCentral.com.

"Based on my review of the entirety of the record, I found that the evidence considered by the jury to be overwhelming evidence of Mr. Atwood’s guilt," Mina Mendez, chairperson of the board, said. "Mr. Atwood is not innocent — not by any stretch of the imagination."

Atwood's attorney, David Lane, tried to convince Mendez and the board of Atwood's innocence, claiming that new evidence proved it, AzCentral.com reported.

"You are the last line of defense," Lane told the board members. "You are the fail-safe. You can consider things the federal courts could not."

Lane said Atwood's team was providing new information in order to prove Atwood's innocence, not to reopen old wounds for the victim's family.

"Typically, I understand remorse is a very serious concern for all of you," Lane said. "That's not going to happen here because Mr. Atwood is innocent. He cannot express remorse for an act he did not commit."

Attorney Sam Kooistra said the timeline of events surrounding the killing "doesn’t add up" and that it was impossible for Atwood to have committed the murder because there was no evidence of the girl in Atwood's car.

"You would expect to see a hair, a print, some evidence somewhere in the car," Kooistra told the board members. "But, that car was searched from top to bottom and there was never any trace of evidence that she had been in the car."

Members of Atwood's Greek Orthodox church spoke on his behalf, calling him a devout Christian, according to AzCentral.com. Father Paisios, Atwood's spiritual advisor, said Atwood was a changed man, but board member Michael Johnson disagreed.

"I don't see a transformed person and I don't see any reason to grant any type of clemency at this time," Johnson said. "He's a pedophile and he's done nothing to correct the situation he was involved in."

Board member Louis Quinonez said Atwood "had lifelong self-control issues and recurring instances of disorderly conduct all the way through 2021," adding that Atwood had shown a pattern of sexual violence from an early age.

Members of the victim's family spoke in support of Atwood’s execution, AzCentral.com reported.

"It will end this inmate from harassing our family, filing frivolous appeals, and end him making a mockery of our criminal justice system," Debbie Carlson, Hoskinson's mother, told the board. "It will end that black cloud that hangs over our heads."