The father of a Winchester police officer shot to death while chasing a suspect is criticizing Governor Tim Kaine for delaying the killer's execution.

Richard Timbrook says he left a message at the governor's office Wednesday to tell Kaine he had the right to oppose the death penalty but "he didn't have the right to push his views on me."

Kaine said during his 2005 campaign for governor that he personally opposes the death penalty, but is committed to upholding Virginia's law.

Gordon Hickey, a spokesman for Kaine, said Thursday the governor has no further comment on the stay.

Forty-two-year-old Edward Nathaniel Bell was sentenced to death for the murder of Winchester Police Sgt. Rick Timbrook.

Timbrook, who was 32, was shot in the head during a foot chase in 1999. Bell was scheduled to be executed April 8, but Kaine announced this week that he decided to stay Bell's execution until July 24.

Kaine granted the reprieve to Bell and temporarily suspended all other executions in Virginia until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a case that claims lethal injection is unconstitutional.