A new Michigan Law Review arti­cle by Professor John Blume of Cornell Law School exam­ines the rela­tion­ship between ​“vol­un­teer­ing” for exe­cu­tion and sui­cide. Blume found that near­ly 88% of all death row inmates who have ​“vol­un­teered” for exe­cu­tion have strug­gled with men­tal ill­ness and/​or sub­stance abuse. He writes that there is an espe­cial­ly strong link between ​“vol­un­teerism” and men­tal ill­ness. Of the ​“vol­un­teer” exe­cu­tions he reviewed, 14 involved schiz­o­phre­nia and sev­er­al more report­ed delu­sions that may reflect schiz­o­phre­nia. Depression and bipo­lar dis­or­der account­ed for at least 23 oth­er cas­es, and post-trau­mat­ic stress dis­or­der was present in anoth­er 10. At least 30 of those who ​“vol­un­teered” for exe­cu­tion had pre­vi­ous­ly attempt­ed sui­cide. The arti­cle also notes that between 1977 and 2003, 85% of the 93 inmates who opt­ed to allow their exe­cu­tion to pro­ceed with­out exhaust­ing all legal appeals were white males, despite the fact that white males make up only 45% of all death row inmates.

(J. Blume, ​“Killing the Willing: ​‘Volunteers,’ Suicide and Competency,” 103 Michigan Law Review 939 (2005)). See Mental Illness, Time on Death Row and Law Review Articles.

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