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News and Developments 2006: Mental Illness

Inmates With Severe Mental Illness Underscore Broader Death Penalty Problems

Posted: December 27, 2006
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In his final article for 2006, columnist Richard Cohen (pictured) chose to highlight the "madness of the death penalty" and to draw attention to the execution of those with mental illness. Cohen used the case of Gregory Thompson, a severely mentally ill Tennessee death row inmate, to illustrate some of the broader problems with the death penalty.

Death Penalty Will Not Be Sought for Killing at Jewish Federation

Posted: December 21, 2006
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Following an announcement that prosecutors would not seek the death penalty for Naveed Haq, who is accused of killing one woman and wounding five others at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, two of Haq's victims said they supported the decision to seek a life sentence.

Stays Granted in Two Pending Executions: Issues are Lethal Injection and Mental Illness

Posted: December 05, 2006
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Stays have been granted in two of the three executions that had still been scheduled for December.  On December 1 in Ohio, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit granted a stay of execution to Jerome Henderson, whose execution had been scheduled for December 5.  Henderson was allowed to join a challenge to the state's lethal injection protocol.  The 6th Circuit denied the state's request to rehear the issue, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to lift the stay.  (Associated Press, Dec. 5, 2006).

Concerns Grow About the Mentally Ill on Death Row

Posted: November 26, 2006
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There is growing concern among national mental health and legal organizations regarding inmates on death row who are severely mentally ill. Many of these inmates had been exhibiting clear signs of mental illness at the time of their crimes, and some, like Scott Panetti in Texas and Guy LeGrande in North Carolina, were allowed to represent themselves at trial, despite their bizarre behavior. Mr. Panetti, who was hospitalized 14 times for mental problems prior to his trial, represented himself in a cowboy suit and tried to subpoena Jesus Christ.

Governor's Adviser Recommends Clemency for Mentally Ill Inmate

Posted: November 17, 2006
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Mark Urban, chairman of the Governor's Advocacy Council for Persons with Disabilities, has requested that North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley fully consider death row inmate Guy LeGrande's request for clemency. LeGrande (pictured), who is scheduled for execution on December 1, has been diagnosed as psychotic and delusional.  

Clemency Urged for Mentally Ill Man in North Carolina

Posted: November 02, 2006
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At a press conference on November 1, the North Carolina Black Leadership Caucus called for the governor to commute the death sentence of Guy LeGrande (pictured).  Le Grande is scheduled to be executed on December 1.  He was allowed to represent himself at his 1996 murder trial, despite the fact that he claimed to be hearing messages from Oprah Winfrey and Dan Rather through television sets.  His defense lawyer, Jay Ferguson, said LeGrande falsely believes he has already been pardoned and will receive a large sum of money.  "The problem is you have a mentally ill person repre

NEW VOICES: Ohio Supreme Court Justice Says Mentally Ill Should be Exempt from Death Penalty

Posted: November 01, 2006
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Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton of the Ohio Supreme Court called upon the legislature to exempt defendants with serious mental illness from the death penalty.  Judge Stratton concurred in the affirmance of the death sentence for Donald Ketterer.  She noted that she was not questioning Ketterer's guilt, nor whether he was competent to stand trial, nor even his possible mental retardation, all of which are covered by other aspects of the law.  Rather the judge said she was constrained by existing law to uphold the death sentence, even though she believed the defendant's mental illness should me

BOOKS: "Minding Justice: Laws that Deprive People with Mental Disability of Life and Liberty"

Posted: October 02, 2006
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Christopher Slobogin of the University of Florida's Law School has written a new book about the state's legal authority to deprive people with mental disabilities of life or liberty.  The book discusses a number of well known cases such as that of John Hinckley and Andrea Yates.  It also includes discussion of laws dealing with the insanity defense, the death penalty, commitment of sexual predators, and hospitalization of people considered unable to make rational decisions.  The book advances new ways of thinking and calls for a complete revamping of the insanity defense, the abolition of t

Conference to Address Mental Illness and the Death Penalty

Posted: September 27, 2006
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The Charlotte School of Law is sponsoring a symposium on "Mental Illness and the Death Penalty: Seeking a 'Reasoned Moral Response' to an Unavoidable Condition" on October 20, 2006 in Charlotte, North Carolina.  The conference will bring together medical experts, judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors, and other experts to discuss whether current law adequately accounts for the role of mental illness in capital cases.  Among those scheduled to speak are James Coleman of Duke University Law School, Ronald Tabak, a leader in the American Bar Association's involvement with

"Volunteers" and the Need for Court Review

Posted: September 14, 2006
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DPIC's Lethal Injection Page
"Volunteers" and the Need for Court Review

A sentencing that "shocks the conscience"
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