Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declined to grant clemency Friday to a rapist-murderer scheduled to die Tuesday at San Quentin State Prison for murdering a Lodi girl in 1981. Michael Morales, 46, admitted that he murdered and raped Terri Winchell, 17, but said his own life was worth sparing because of his remorse and redemption on death row.

"There is no compelling evidence that the jury's punishment is not appropriate in this case," Schwarzenegger wrote. "All the reviewing courts have upheld the jury's punishment. Morales' claim that he is a changed man does not excuse the brutal murder and rape of Terri Winchell."

Schwarzenegger has now denied clemency to all five condemned inmates who have requested it since taking office two years ago. Winchell's mother, Barbara Christian, said she was relieved by the decision, which came as the defense team was holding a news conference in support of clemency at the gates of San Quentin. "We believed the governor would stand by the victim," said Christian. Lawyers for Morales told Schwarzenegger that he should be spared because he accepted responsibility and repeatedly expressed remorse for the murder. The judge who presided over Morales' trial also asked the governor to commute the sentence to life in prison because new evidence casts doubt on the testimony of a key witness.

The last time a California governor granted clemency was in 1967 when Gov. Ronald spared a mentally ill killer. Morales has two challenges pending at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which among other things is being asked to block the execution on claims that lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment. In his clemency petition, Morales said he was led astray by a "manipulative crime partner" who got him drunk and high on the drug PCP on the day of the murder. Morales' cousin Rick Ortega was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the murder.