Arthur Baird, who was to be executed on August 31 for murdering his parents in Indiana, received a commutation to a life sentence from Governor Mitch Daniels. (WishTV.com, Ch.8, Indianapolis, Aug. 29, 2005). Two members of the Indiana Supreme Court had written that Baird was “only marginally in touch with reality,” in a decision in which the majority had allowed the execution to go forward. A report to the court from Dr. Philip M. Coons, a professor emeritus of psychiatry at the Indiana University School of Medicine, found Baird to be “grossly psychotic and delusional” and mentally unfit to be executed. Indiana’s parole board had recommended against a commutation.
(Indianapolis Star, August 26, 2005).
See Clemency and Mental Illness.
Citation Guide
- Death Penalty Information Center (2025, March 14). Seriously Mentally Ill Man Receives Commutation in Indiana. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/seriously-mentally-ill-man-receives-commutation-in-indiana
- Death Penalty Information Center. “Seriously Mentally Ill Man Receives Commutation in Indiana.” Last modified March 14, 2025. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/seriously-mentally-ill-man-receives-commutation-in-indiana.
- Death Penalty Information Center. “Seriously Mentally Ill Man Receives Commutation in Indiana.” Death Penalty Information Center, 14 Mar. 2025, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/seriously-mentally-ill-man-receives-commutation-in-indiana. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.
