Michael Morales  Michael Angelo Morales (born October 17, 1959) is a convicted murderer who was scheduled to be executed by the State of California on February 21, 2006. Two hours before the scheduled execution, the State of California notified the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that they could not comply with a lower federal judge's ruling that the execution must be carried out by a medical professional due to the chemical used in the execution. Consequently, California has indefinitely suspended Morales' execution. The case subsequently led to a moratorium on capital punishment in California entirely, as the only legal method of execution must be carried out with the participation of a licensed physician, who are ethically prohibited from participating in executions. Michael Morales was convicted of murdering 17-year-old Terri Winchell on January 8, 1981. Winchell was in a love triangle with Richard Ortega, a cousin of Morales, and another man. Ortega hired Morales to kill Winchell so that Ortega could have exclusive relations with his male lover. According to prosecutors, Morales attacked Winchell from behind and tried to strangle her with his belt. Morales then hit her head with a hammer, beating her into unconsciousness, and crushing the victim's skull. Morales then dragged Winchell face-down across the road and into a vineyard, where he raped her and stabbed her four times in the chest. Winchell died from both the head and chest wounds. Morales has not denied that he committed the crime. His defense team argued, however, that since he was high on PCP at the time, the murder does not qualify for the "special circumstances" required by California state law for the death penalty. Morales' defense argued that the crime was not premeditated, despite the fact that he had told Ortega that he would defend him. The prosecution countered with evidence showing that Morales gathered tools before the encounter, practiced strangulation on two female acquaintances, and confessed to an informant while in jail. Charles McGrath, the judge who originally sentenced Morales to execution, has announced that he has had a change of heart in the case. He now says he now doubts the testimony of an informant against Morales. Notably, the informant claimed that Morales confessed to him in Spanish, a language Morales does not speak. McGrath asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to grant Morales clemency under state law. In addition, Morales has claimed that he has found God in prison, and regrets the crime that he committed. In early 2006, lead defense attorney David Senior hired former Whitewater special prosecutor Kenneth Starr to be one of Morales' attorneys on the appeals.