Despite possible mental health problems, a man who killed his nine-month-old daughter Brianna has been executed in the United States. The death sentence against 57-year-old Benjamin C.* was carried out Thursday at McAlester Prison in the state of Oklahoma by lethal injection, authorities said. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to stop the execution on Wednesday.
C. was sentenced to death in 2004. He had killed his crying nine-month-old daughter because he wanted to be able to play a James Bond game on his Nintendo console. The girl was brutally murdered. Her spine broke when her father bent her legs back. The main artery was also ruptured by the force.
The mentally ill should not be executed
His lawyers argued that C. had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and had brain damage. His condition has deteriorated further recently, he can no longer walk, can no longer take care of his personal hygiene and cannot communicate well.
In the United States, seriously mentally ill people who do not understand the reasons for a sentence and its consequences cannot be executed. However, Oklahoma authorities argued that the man did not suffer from any such mental health problems. Rather, he is a “Messianic Jew” who can certainly speak, but does not because of his “extreme religiosity”.
“Jesus is my God and Savior”
According to local journalists, the 57-year-old spoke and prayed in an unintelligible tone for about two minutes on Thursday while he was being held for the lethal injection. Among other things, he said: “Jesus is my God and Saviour” and “Decide for Jesus while you still can”. Before that, his last meal was a vegetarian lasagna.
Twelve inmates have already been executed in the United States this year, four of them in Oklahoma alone. The state plans to carry out a number of other executions in the coming months. (male/AFP)