Keeping His Vow, Killer Is Executed : Death penalty: David Edwin Mason dies in San Quentin’s gas chamber shortly after midnight. He had refused all appeals on his behalf.

David Edwin Mason, the convicted killer of five who volunteered for the gas chamber, held firm to his vow not to intervene with last-chance appeals and was executed just after midnight inside San Quentin prison.

Mason was pronounced dead at 12:23 a.m., about 14 minutes after cyanide pellets were lowered into a vat of acid releasing a cloud of lethal gas, said Tipton Kindel, spokesman for the California Department of Corrections.

The execution was delayed about 10 minutes so a federal judge could ensure that Mason’s attorney was present as a witness, Kindel said.

“His mood was rather upbeat considering the situation,” said prison spokesman Vernell Crittendon, who delivered Mason his final mail at 9:10 p.m. Monday. He said Mason was calmly watching television after saying his farewells to his parents and other family members.

Earlier Monday, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals cleared the way for Mason, 36, to be put to death when it lifted a stay of execution imposed while the court considered whether Mason was competent to choose to die.

An 11-judge panel of the 9th Circuit upheld two earlier court rulings that Mason was mentally competent and ruled: “All stays in the circuit and district courts are hereby vacated.”

Charles Marson, Mason’s former attorney who had fought to halt the execution, decided Monday night not to take any appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has repeatedly rejected last-minute stays aimed at saving condemned prisoners.

Mason had said he wanted no federal appeals lodged on his behalf. Mason, who strangled and robbed four elderly Oakland residents in 1980 and strangled a fellow inmate in 1982, is the first prisoner in California to drop all appeals and accept the death penalty since capital punishment was restored. In doing so, he was willing to cut his life short by at least three years.

Until now, the only prisoner put to death in California in the last 26 years was Robert Alton Harris, a murderer who died in the gas chamber here in April, 1992.

This year, Mason went to court and won the right to fire Marson as his attorney and to drop his federal court appeals. During a decade in prison, Mason explained, he had come to regret his crimes and realize that his death sentence was appropriate.

State officials said Mason could have stopped his execution at any time--even when he was strapped into the chair in the gas chamber--simply by saying he wanted to reactivate federal court review of his conviction.

“We’ve agreed all along that he can have a first petition (in federal court) if he wants it,” Deputy Atty. Gen. Catherine Rivlin said before the execution.

In case he were to have changed his mind, prison officials said Mason had a phone in his cell all day Monday and was able to call his current attorney, Mike Brady, who was sitting in an office at the prison.

Brady, in turn, was prepared to contact U.S. District Judge Ronald M. Whyte, who was standing by in case Mason wanted him to issue a stay of execution.

Mason, who grew up in a strict religious household where he was frequently beaten and repeatedly tried to commit suicide, appears to have found strength in recent months in renewed family relationships.

Mason spent much of Monday with his parents, his wife, Charlene, whom he married while in prison, and other members of his family. Instead of having the traditional last meal in his cell, Mason and his family dined during the afternoon on sandwiches provided by the prison.

Shortly after 6 p.m., he said goodby to his family and was escorted to one of two deathwatch cells 15 feet from the gas chamber. He was given a clean set of clothes and remained under constant watch until he was scheduled to be walked into the gas chamber.

Mason had decided against the company of a spiritual adviser during his final hours, asking instead for access to a telephone, a privilege granted Monday evening by prison officials. Prison officials said Mason would be able to phone his attorney at any time but it was unknown if he was allowed to make other calls.

All other inmates at San Quentin were confined to their quarters, except at mealtime.

Mason said he did not want any members of his family to witnesses his execution, preferring that they remember him as they saw him on their last visits.

Similarly, no relatives of his victims were at San Quentin to watch the execution.

Dolly Lundberg, whose mother, 71-year-old Joan Pickard, was Mason’s first victim, said she forgives him for his crimes but still believes that he should be put to death.

“Very definitely it is a necessary and right thing to happen,” Lundberg said from her home in Castro Valley. “There have been plenty of appeals. He’s had plenty of time to prove his innocence and he hasn’t been able to.”

Lundberg said she had wondered if Mason’s resolve to die would hold until the final minute or whether he would back out.

“As individuals, we can’t judge another and we must forgive,” said Lundberg, whose family attended the same Pentecostal church as the Masons. “Our prayers are with his family. At least they are getting a chance to say goodby. Unfortunately, I didn’t.”

Foes of capital punishment, holding out hope that Mason would change his mind, staged vigils at the prison beside San Pablo Bay in Marin County and in major cities throughout the state. Two protesters were arrested outside the San Quentin gate Monday night for interfering with officers. But opposition to Mason’s execution has not been as great as the protests last year when the state executed Harris.

“For the abolitionists, a consensual execution is a difficult one,” said Pat Clark, executive director of Death Penalty Focus. “It’s strange to be viewed as the people against David Mason. Our view is no one should be killed.”

A small number of pro-death penalty demonstrators also were outside the prison.