---
title: 'MENTAL ILLNESS: Man Who Defended Himself in a Cowboy Suit Deemed Sane Enough for Execution'
description: 'The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held that Texas death row inmate Scott Panetti is sane enough to be executed, despite his long…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/mental-illness-man-who-defended-himself-in-a-cowboy-suit-deemed-sane-enough-for-execution'
section: news
date: '2013-08-28T18:04:00-04:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:35:54-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

! The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held that **Texas** death row inmate **Scott Panetti** is sane enough to be executed, despite his long history of severe mental illness. Panetti was sentenced to death for the 1992 murder of his in-laws. Putting aside Panetti's bizarre behavior in court, the judge allowed him to represent himself at trial, where he wore a purple cowboy suit and subpoenaed Jesus Christ and Anne Bancroft as witnesses. Panetti had been hospitalized 11 times for mental illnes prior to the murders and had been released only 2 months earlier. In a previous ruling, the Fifth Circuit held that Panetti only needed to realize he had committed a crime and was therefore being executed in order to satisfy the Eighth Amendment's ban on executing individuals who are insane. The [**U.S. Supreme Court**](https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/stories/united-states-supreme-court-decisions-2006-2007) stopped the pending execution and held that courts should consider a defendant's complete mental history in determining whether he has a rational understanding of his situation. Panetti has said his execution is a ruse to hide a satanic plot to kill him. The Fifth Circuit relied in part on taped conversations between Panetti and his family to determine his competency.

(J. Smith, "[Panetti Sane Enough for Execution](http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2013-08-22/panetti-sane-enough-for-execution/)," Austin Chronicle, August 22, 2013; see [Panetti v. Stephens](http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions%5Cpub%5C08/08-70015-CV0.wpd.pdf), No. 08-70015 (5th Cir. Aug. 21, 2013)). See **[Mental Illness](/mental-illness-and-death-penalty?did=782&scid=66)**. Listen to DPIC's [**podcast on Mental Illness**](https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/resources/podcasts#p12).