US. DEATH ROW INMATE ASKS TO DONATE LIVER TO SISTER

May 16, 2005: a death row inmate in the US state of Indiana has asked for a stay on his execution so he can find a way to donate his liver to his sister.
"The time's not my choice," Gregory Scott Johnson told a reporter on May 11 in an interview from prison.
"All I can say is 'yes, she can have it.' If I don't die, I still want to give her what she needs. If I do die, I want them to leave what's necessary and give her what she needs."
Johnson was convicted in 1986 of beating an 82-year-old woman to death during a burglary and has been on death row ever since.
The 40-year-old is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 12:01 am on May 25 after having exhausted all of his legal appeals.
He asked a parole board Monday to delay his execution so that doctors could determine whether his liver would be suitable for transplant.
His sister, Debbie Otis, was diagnosed three weeks ago with steatohepatitis, a type of non-alcoholic hepatitis found in diabetics. A liver transplant would be her best chance for survival and that chance would be even better if the donor was a sibling, doctors told Johnson's court-appointed attorney.
"We've never had a request like this before," said Java Ahmed, a spokeswoman for the Indiana Department of Correction.
Ahmed said it would not be possible for Johnson to donate the liver after his execution because the chemicals used to stop his heart will poison his organs.
The parole board will hold a public hearing on May 20 morning and is expected to rule by May 23 on whether the execution will be delayed. (Sources: Afp, 16/05/2005)