OS ANGELES - Pope John Paul II has appealed to Governor George W. Bush of Texas, the Republican front-runner in the presidential race, to stay the execution of a Texas man for a slaying committed as a juvenile.
Glen C. McGinnis, 26, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Tuesday.
The pope's intervention, before the Iowa caucuses on Monday, puts the spotlight on Bush's strong support for the death penalty - 114 executions have been conducted in Texas during his five years in office, more than under any other governor in the United States since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1972.
McGinnis shot to death the owner of a dry cleaning shop north of Houston nine years ago.
''Committed to upholding the sacredness and dignity of each human life, the Holy Father prays that the life of Mr. McGinnis may be saved through the compassion and magnanimity of yourself, Mr. Governor, and through the (Texas) Board of Pardon and Paroles,'' the papal letter states.
Bush has frequently maintained that the death penalty serves as a useful deterrent against murder.
