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Gandalf Grey
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Thank God, the Supreme Court Keeps an Insane Death Row Inmate from Being
Executed
By Margie Burns
Created Jun 28 2007 - 11:47am
In what may be the Supreme Court's final day in session for 2006-2007,
opinions handed down are a mixed bag. But at least there is one small step
forward for mankind, or for the nation.
In a 5-4 decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy joined the "liberals" on the high
court to rule that insane Death Row inmate Scott Panetti will not be
executed under the narrow definition of delusionality supported by the lower
courts, ie let's not give those mentally deranged patients and inmates any
loopholes.
The case is "Panetti v. Quarterman (06-6407). Doctors who examined Scott
Louis Panetti found him to have a mental disorder, although they concluded
that he knew he was to be executed after killing his wife's parents. But the
doctors concluded that Panetti had a personal belief that he was going to be
put to death by the state because he was "preaching the gospel" and that the
"forces of evil" were set against him. His lawyers claim that he is too
mentally unstable to be executed without violating the Eighth Amendment ban
on cruel and unusual punishment. The appeal is supported by the National
Alliance for the Mentally Ill. It and Panetti's petition argue that the
lower court decision in his case runs against the Supreme Court's 1986
decision in Ford v. Wainwright barring the execution of the mentally ill."
(Quoted from Lyle Denniston of SCOTUSblog.)
One of Panetti's earlier symptoms was repeatedly striking the wall with a
knife, claiming (shrieking) that the devil was in the wall. His parents, who
have fought hard for his execution to be stayed, have known for years that
he was mentally ill and tried to get help for him. His former wife -- whose
parents he murdered in a fit of delusional rage, the crime for which he was
sentenced to death -- has reversed her earlier demand that he be executed.
This topic is hard for me, personally, to write about. For one thing, the
very idea of putting to death any insane person -- like the idea of
executing a mentally retarded person, or the idea of executing a minor -- is
so on-its-face barbaric that it's paradoxically hard to argue against. What
do you find to say, to a nominally educated person who thinks executing
mentally ill convicts is something acceptable for the state to do?
Closer to home -- and in the interest of full disclosure -- the whole
picture is unbearable to me probably partly because my only sibling is a
brother who was diagnosed with schizophrenia many years ago. The situation
has few parallels with any Death Row situation, since my brother never
engaged in violent crime. But the ghastly ill will and bad faith that
characterizes "debate" over executing Death Row lunatics -- particularly
among the highly educated and the highly paid, sad to say -- also
characterizes most other debates about treatment of the mentally ill, and
most other debates about other social problems.
_______
Reprinted with permission of MargieBurns.com [1]
Margie Burns is a freelance journalist in the D.C. area with a blog at
MargieBurns.com [2].
margie.burns@verizon.net
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
Executed
By Margie Burns
Created Jun 28 2007 - 11:47am
In what may be the Supreme Court's final day in session for 2006-2007,
opinions handed down are a mixed bag. But at least there is one small step
forward for mankind, or for the nation.
In a 5-4 decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy joined the "liberals" on the high
court to rule that insane Death Row inmate Scott Panetti will not be
executed under the narrow definition of delusionality supported by the lower
courts, ie let's not give those mentally deranged patients and inmates any
loopholes.
The case is "Panetti v. Quarterman (06-6407). Doctors who examined Scott
Louis Panetti found him to have a mental disorder, although they concluded
that he knew he was to be executed after killing his wife's parents. But the
doctors concluded that Panetti had a personal belief that he was going to be
put to death by the state because he was "preaching the gospel" and that the
"forces of evil" were set against him. His lawyers claim that he is too
mentally unstable to be executed without violating the Eighth Amendment ban
on cruel and unusual punishment. The appeal is supported by the National
Alliance for the Mentally Ill. It and Panetti's petition argue that the
lower court decision in his case runs against the Supreme Court's 1986
decision in Ford v. Wainwright barring the execution of the mentally ill."
(Quoted from Lyle Denniston of SCOTUSblog.)
One of Panetti's earlier symptoms was repeatedly striking the wall with a
knife, claiming (shrieking) that the devil was in the wall. His parents, who
have fought hard for his execution to be stayed, have known for years that
he was mentally ill and tried to get help for him. His former wife -- whose
parents he murdered in a fit of delusional rage, the crime for which he was
sentenced to death -- has reversed her earlier demand that he be executed.
This topic is hard for me, personally, to write about. For one thing, the
very idea of putting to death any insane person -- like the idea of
executing a mentally retarded person, or the idea of executing a minor -- is
so on-its-face barbaric that it's paradoxically hard to argue against. What
do you find to say, to a nominally educated person who thinks executing
mentally ill convicts is something acceptable for the state to do?
Closer to home -- and in the interest of full disclosure -- the whole
picture is unbearable to me probably partly because my only sibling is a
brother who was diagnosed with schizophrenia many years ago. The situation
has few parallels with any Death Row situation, since my brother never
engaged in violent crime. But the ghastly ill will and bad faith that
characterizes "debate" over executing Death Row lunatics -- particularly
among the highly educated and the highly paid, sad to say -- also
characterizes most other debates about treatment of the mentally ill, and
most other debates about other social problems.
_______
Reprinted with permission of MargieBurns.com [1]
Margie Burns is a freelance journalist in the D.C. area with a blog at
MargieBurns.com [2].
margie.burns@verizon.net
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
