Oklahoma inmate Garry Allen (pic­tured) is sched­uled for exe­cu­tion on April 12, despite a Pardon and Parole Board’s 4 – 1 rec­om­men­da­tion that his sen­tence be reduced to life with­out parole. In an unusu­al move, Mr. Allen orig­i­nal­ly plead­ed guilty to mur­der­ing his girl­friend with­out receiv­ing any ben­e­fit in sen­tenc­ing, and has tes­ti­fied that he did so to spare his fam­i­ly and the vic­tim’s fam­i­ly the trau­ma of a tri­al. Allen was shot in the head at the time of his arrest. His lawyers have argued that he is not sane and should not be exe­cut­ed because of his his­to­ry of men­tal ill­ness and alco­holism. His court records indi­cate ​“prob­a­ble diag­no­sis is Schizophrenic Disorder, or Anxiety Disorder in a Paranoid Personality,” but in 2008 a jury found him sane enough for exe­cu­tion. Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has said she has reviewed the case and does not intend to grant clemen­cy. UPDATE: A fed­er­al judge has grant­ed Allen a stay to explore issues of men­tal com­pe­ten­cy. Oklahoma is appeal­ing the stay to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (April 12, 2012).

(K. Fretland, ​“Expert: Guilty plea rare in Oklahoma case; activists to ask for clemen­cy ahead of exe­cu­tion,” Associated Press, April 6, 2012.) See Mental Illness and Clemency.

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