UPDATE2: Awkal was giv­en a two-week stay by Gov. Kasich to allow time for a men­tal com­pe­ten­cy deter­mi­na­tion. Abdul Awkal (pic­tured) is sched­uled to be exe­cut­ed in Ohio on June 6, despite evi­dence of his severe men­tal ill­ness. Awkal lived through 8 years of a civ­il war in Lebanon, his home coun­try, before escap­ing to Michigan. He was sen­tenced to death for mur­der­ing his estranged wife and broth­er-in-law in 1992. There were indi­ca­tions he was suf­fer­ing from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. At one point, the pros­e­cu­tion offered him a plea bar­gain that would have removed the pos­si­bil­i­ty of a death sen­tence, but Awkal reject­ed the offer. On two occa­sions, he was deemed by courts to be too men­tal­ly incom­pe­tent to assist in his own defense. He was diag­nosed with Schizoaffective Disorder, depressed type. Awkal also has a his­to­ry of men­tal break­downs, sui­ci­dal depres­sion and hal­lu­ci­na­tions. He believes he advis­es the CIA on Islamic reli­gion and cul­ture, and claimed he is being exe­cut­ed because the CIA wants him dead. Awkal’s attor­neys have asked Ohio Governor John Kasich to grant him clemen­cy. UPDATE: Gov. Kasich denied Awkal’s clemen­cy request on May 30.

The U.S. Supreme Court held in Ford v. Wainwright (1986) that the Eighth Amendment pro­hibits the exe­cu­tion of a per­son who is insane and not aware of his exe­cu­tion or the rea­sons for it. However, peo­ple with severe men­tal ill­ness­es may not fall under that ruling.

(I. Millhiser, ​“Ohio Set to Execute Severely Mentally Ill Inmate Next Week,” ThinkProgress, May 29, 2012). See Mental Illness and Clemency. Listen to DPIC’s pod­cast on Mental Illness.

Citation Guide