Sentenced to death in 1995: judge stops execution of mentally ill double murderer

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Federal Judge Robert Pitman ruled Thursday that it is undisputed that Scott Panetti “is seriously mentally ill and has suffered from chronic schizophrenia for more than forty years.”

“Panetti’s mental illness prevents him from rationally understanding the state’s reasons for his execution,” the judge continued. Carrying out the death sentence against the 65-year-old would therefore violate the constitutional ban on “cruel or unusual punishment.”

Panetti’s attorney Gregory Wiercioch welcomed the decision. It prevents Texas from taking ‘revenge’ on a man suffering from schizophrenia.

In 1992, Panetti shot the parents of his wife, with whom he was arguing. He also took his wife and three-year-old daughter hostage for one night before surrendering. Panetti had been hospitalized more than a dozen times in the years before the double murder for hallucinations and psychotic episodes.

During the trial, Panetti defended himself, wore a cowboy suit and wanted to call Pope John Paul II, US President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963, and Jesus Christ as witnesses. In 1995 he was sentenced to death.

In his fight against the death penalty, he has received a lot of support over the years, including from psychiatrists, former judges and religious groups. The European Union called on Texas authorities to spare Panetti the death penalty.

In 1986, the US Supreme Court banned the execution of seriously mentally ill people. The decisive criterion is whether a condemned person can understand why he should be executed.

(AFP)

Source: Blick