Key Dates In The Case Of Charles Campbell
Oct. 21, 1954: Charles Rodman Campbell born in Oahu, Hawaii.
Oct. 29, 1970: Campbell's dad brings him to Edmonds police for stealing family car. Officers question him in connection with a burglary as well. Later, during a telephone call, Campbell is overheard telling someone to shoot his dad.
July 3, 1971: Campbell's mother, Betty, reports son as runaway. "Mrs. Campbell states that she has given up hope for Charlie except for trying to get him to court. She would not bother reporting him gone and would just as soon that he never came back home."
July 4, 1971: Campbell burglarizes his grandparents' home, stealing several guns he wanted to sell to finance a trip to California. He's arrested. Police see needle tracks on Campbell's arms; he said he had shot "everything except Kool-Aid and peanut butter."
July 1971: Campbell sent to Green Hill reformatory for boys in Chehalis on auto theft and placed on probation for second-degree burglary. August 1973: Campbell marries. Oct. 14, 1973: Campbell beats his wife and threatens to kill her dog, mother and sister. Wife refuses to file a complaint with police. March 1974: Campbell's daughter is born.
June 28, 1974: Campbell, angered by child's crying, twice throws a butcher knife at her.
Aug. 22, 1974: Campbell divorces; ex-wife gets custody of daughter.
Dec. 11, 1974: Campbell enters home of Renae Louise Wicklund in Clearview, Snohomish County, holds a knife to infant daughter, forces the young mother to perform sex act.
Dec. 13, 1974: Campbell gets a job at Pizza Haven using a false name. After closing up, Campbell leaves with $1,700.
Jan. 2, 1976: Campbell, armed with a sawed-off shotgun, breaks into a home in Eastern Washington. Home's caretaker identifies Campbell at a nearby bar. Campbell is arrested and later convicted of second-degree burglary.
Jan. 26, 1976: Campbell sentenced on the day he pleaded guilty to the Okanogan burglary
April 21, 1976: Jury finds Campbell guilty of of sodomy and first-degree assault for the 1974 incident involving Wicklund.
May 11, 1976: Campbell begins serving three consecutive sentences for the Okanogan second-degree burglary, sodomy and first-degree assault at Shelton Corrections Center.
June 7, 1976: Campbell transferred to Washington State Reformatory in Monroe. Campbell becomes romantically involved with former nun Judith K. Dirks, a substance-abuse counselor there. Their relationship gets Dirks fired.
Sept. 29, 1976: In prison, Campbell found with a gallon of "pruno," home-made liquor brewed using yeast stolen from the reformatory kitchen.
Nov. 1, 1977: Campbell hits another reformatory inmate, knocking him down and causing him to be treated for head injuries.
Oct. 1978: Campbell's cellmate accuses him of rape.
Jan. 8, 1979: Washington State Reformatory psychological review by R.A. Maneman states that Campbell is a conflict-ridden man "who has declared war on society, all of whom he regards as mindless nitwits who are getting theirs and are now out to get him. . . . The resident is further seen as insensitive, blithly (sic) uncaring of others, conscienceless, malevolently intolerable of the social order which imprisons him, and imminently harmful to all who directly or indirectly capture his attention or interest."
Aug. 11, 1979: Another inmate accuses Campbell of rape. Campbell threatens to kill the man if he tells anyone.
June 1981: Parole Board waives Campbell's mandatory sentence and schedules him for a May 1983 parole hearing. The board decision made Campbell eligible for minimum-custody status.
Aug. 14, 1981: Campbell granted minimum-custody status.
Sept. 1981: Campbell transferred to prison honor farm.
Oct. 1981: Campbell transferred to Monroe Work Release facility as cook.
Dec. 25, 1981, and Jan. 4, 1982: Campbell's ex-wife said he left work release and raped her. Feb. 24, 1982: Campbell transferred to the Everett work-release facility after the Monroe program was closed. Campbell commits four infractions in the first 30 days at Everett.
April 14, 1982: Campbell murders Renae Wicklund, her 8-year-old daughter, Shannah, and a neighbor, Barbara Hendrickson, in Clearview, Snohomish County.
Oct. 18, 1982: Judith Dirks gives birth to Campbell's son. Nov. 26, 1982: Campbell is convicted of aggravated first-degree murder.
Dec. 17, 1982: Campbell is sentenced to death.
Nov. 6, 1984: Washington State Supreme Court affirms Campbell's conviction and sentence.
April 29, 1985: U.S. Supreme Court denies Campbell's request for a hearing.
Feb. 16, 1986: U.S. District Court denies Campbell's first federal appeal.
Oct. 6, 1987: The 9th Circuit affirms the district court's decision.
Nov. 7, 1988: U.S. Supreme Court again refuses to hear Campbell's case.
Feb. 15, 1989: Snohomish County Superior Court sets Campbell's execution for March 30, 1989.
March 7, 1989: Campbell files appeal with State Supreme Court.
March 23, 1989: State Supreme Court rejects Campbell's challenges.
March 27, 1989: U.S. District Judge John Coughenour rejects Campbell's second federal appeal.
March 28, 1989: 9th Circuit stays Campbell's execution, pending appeal.
June 27, 1989: Attorneys for the state and for Campbell present oral argument to the 9th Circuit Court.
Sept. 13, 1991: Campbell files his third federal appeal.
Jan. 13, 1992: U.S. Supreme Court denies the state's request to compel the 9th Circuit to rule on Campbell's appeal, but warns against "unnecessary delays or unwarranted stays" in the case.
March 9, 1992: U.S. District Court dismisses Campbell's third appeal.
Dec. 24, 1992: The 9th Circuit affirms the district court's denial of Campbell's third appeal.
April 28, 1993: The 9th Circuit orders district court hearing on whether hanging is cruel and unusual.
June 1, 1993: Judge Coughenour rules that Washington's hanging procedure does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
Feb. 8, 1994: The 9th Circuit denies Campbell's second federal appeal, ruling 6-5 that hanging does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
April 15, 1994: The 9th Circuit refuses to rehear Campbell's appeal and lifts the stay of execution.
May 23-26, 1994: Campbell and his attorney file appeals in numerous courts, and his attorney appears before state Clemency and Pardons Board, seeking a stay of the execution or commutation of death sentence.
Source: Police and court documents