Former Indiana Chief Justice Givan dies at 88
Former Justice Richard Givan of the Indiana Supreme Court, died Tuesday at his home near Plainfield. He was 88.
The Supreme Court, which Givan joined in 1968, announced his death. He spent 26 years on the court, becoming chief justice in 1974, rescinding the title in 1984, but remaining a justice until he retired in 1994.
Current Justice Brent Dickson recalled Givan as a devout Quaker who backed repealing the death penalty while he was a legislator, but then upheld several death sentences while on the court because of his duty to follow state law, reported the Associated Press.
Born in 1921, Givan grew up in Indianapolis and graduated from the Indiana University School of Law. While in law school, Givan worked as an assistant librarian to the state Supreme Court and later as a research assistant for the court.
Givan was also an Army Air Corps pilot during World War II, and later a flight instruct for the Air Corps Reservists.
Tags: Chief Justice, Indiana Supreme Court, Quaker, Richard Givan
