"Inmate described as delusional gets execution date," is the AP report, via the Austin American-Statesman.
A Texas death row inmate whose attorneys contend is so delusional that he can't understand why he was convicted and condemned has been scheduled for execution.
Scott Panetti, 56, was set for lethal injection in Huntsville on Dec. 3, according to a Gillespie County judge's order received this week by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which carries out executions.
Panetti, a native of Hayward, Wisconsin, has a history of mental problems and his case has been to the U.S. Supreme Court at least three times. The most recent was early this month when the justices refused to review his latest appeal. State attorneys have argued he exaggerates some of his symptoms to avoid execution.
"Texas adds 11th killer to 2014 execution list," is by Allan Turner of the Houston Chronicle.
Executions may be scheduled at any time during the year, provided a 30-day period passes between the date the execution was ordered and the date it is carried out. Executions typically are not scheduled around Christmas.
Greg Wiercioch, an attorney for Scott Panetti, has issued the following statement:
"Scott Panetti is not competent for execution and therefore his execution would serve no retributive purpose. It is unfortunate that an execution date has been set.
“For more than three decades, Mr. Panetti has suffered from severe mental illness. He was allowed to represent himself at his capital trial, wearing a make-believe cowboy outfit and attempting to subpoena Jesus Christ and John F. Kennedy. He has a fixed delusion that Satan, working through the State of Texas, is seeking to execute him for preaching the Gospel. His execution would be a miserable spectacle."
Earlier coverage of Scott Panetti's case begins at the link.
Related coverage is in the Scott Panetti category index.
The Supreme Court established standards to assess whether severely mentally ill inmates are competent to be executed in a 1986 case, Ford v. Wainwright; more via Oyez. The Court revisited the ruling in 2007 in Panetti v. Quarterman is via Oyez.
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