Sammy Perkins is sched­uled for exe­cu­tion in North Carolina on October 8, despite his men­tal ill­ness and the fact that the jurors at his tri­al did not learn the extent of his dis­abil­i­ty. According to a press release from Perkins’s attor­neys:

​“The jury nev­er heard the full sto­ry of Sammy Perkins’ men­tal dis­or­der: A fam­i­ly his­to­ry of psy­chi­atric prob­lems left its mark on Sammy Perkins. Several fam­i­ly mem­bers suf­fered from men­tal ill­ness­es. In his late teens and ear­ly twen­ties, the time when bi-polar dis­or­ders are often dis­cov­ered, Perkins was found rant­i­ng in pub­lic, some­times com­plete­ly naked. From a poor fam­i­ly, he was not able to get psy­chi­atric help, treat­ment or med­ica­tion. Bi-polar dis­or­der, left untreat­ed, is a debil­i­tat­ing men­tal ill­ness, with wild mood swings, depres­sion and man­ic highs dur­ing which the per­son can be out of touch with real­i­ty. As he self-med­icat­ed his moods and depres­sion with cocaine, hero­in and alco­hol, the con­di­tion wors­ened. Myasthenia Gravis claimed Perkins as well. This autoim­mune dis­ease caus­es mus­cu­lar weak­ness. Prescription Prednisone, giv­en to Perkins to abate the symp­toms, caus­es eupho­ria, hyper­ac­tiv­i­ty and is high­ly addic­tive.” (Press Release, Sept. 29, 2004, Attorneys Ed West: 910.254.4748 and Nora Hargrove: 910.763.7952). See Mental Illness.

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