la-na-texas-execution-mentally-ill-20141202-001Last Wednesday a federal appeals court stayed the execution of Scott Panetti, 56, a Texas man whose attorneys and supporters have argued is too mentally ill to legally be put to death. Panetti’s attorneys had also appealed to the state district court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, requesting that they stay or delay his execution so his competency could be assessed, however, both appeals were denied. Their appeal for clemency to the state Board of Pardons and Paroles was also denied.

Prior to the stay, Panetti’s execution was scheduled for this Wednesday.

Diagnosed with schizophrenia 36 years ago, Panetti’s was convicted of murdering his wife’s parents at their Texas home in 1992, shooting them with a deer-hunting rifle in front of his wife and their 3-year-old daughter.

His attorneys claim that he still hears voices and suffers from the delusions that prevent him from understanding why he is being executed, which would violate the 8th Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment. Prosecutors argue that medical records fail to support the claim that Panetti’s mental health had deteriorated. Prosecutors maintain that his bizarre behavior is deliberate. Court-appointed state medical experts have repeatedly questioned the validity of his symptoms.

In 2002, the US Supreme Court banned the execution of the mentally disabled. In 2007, the court reviewed Panetti’s case and found that inmates must be required to not only know that they are being punished, but to have a “rational understanding” of why.

Despite the Supreme Court’s 2002 ruling on the mentally disabled, Texas executed Marvin Wilson in 2012. Wilson’s IQ had been measured at 61. He was the 484th person executed in Texas since the death penalty was reinstated in 1977. Texas Governor Rick Perry has presided over more executions than any other governor in American history.

Whether you’re a death penalty supporter or not, the Supreme Court clearly drew a line in the sand regarding the execution of mentally handicapped individuals. So the key question here is not just whether Scott Panetti has been faking his schizophrenia for nearly four decades––but whether Governor Perry and the state of Texas are subject to rulings established by the Supreme Court.

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