WASHINGTON -- A group of conservative leaders is mounting a last-minute effort to stop Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) from executing inmate Scott Panetti, arguing that killing "one of the most seriously mentally ill prisoners on death row in the United States" would "undermine the public's faith in a fair and moral justice system."

Panetti admitted in 1995 to having killed his in-laws three years earlier, while his wife and three-year-old daughter watched. He has suffered from schizophrenia and other mental illnesses for over 30 years and has been hospitalized on 15 separate occasions. In spite of his illness, Panetti is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CST.

Twenty-one conservative leaders have joined with mental health and death penalty reformers in opposing the execution, asking Perry in a recent letter to commute Panetti's sentence to life in prison. Signatories included former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, conservative activist Brent Bozell and former presidential candidate Gary Bauer.

According to The Atlantic, Panetti had come to believe he was engaged in a battle with Satan and tried to exorcise his home by burying his furniture in the backyard. At his trial, he dressed as a cowboy and acted as his own attorney. He also tried to subpoena John F. Kennedy and the Pope.

Prosecutors have argued that Panetti is faking his illness.

Panetti's lawyers filed a motion this month asking Perry to stay the execution for 30 days in order for Panetti to receive a new mental health assessment. (He has not had one since 2007.) The lawyers said they would have filed the request earlier, but no one notified them that an execution date had been set. Instead, they had to learn about it from a newspaper article.

Unlike in other states, Perry can't single-handedly reduce Panetti's sentence -- the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has to first recommend clemency. On Monday, however, the board unanimously voted against delaying Panetti's execution for 180 days and recommending to Perry that his sentence be commuted.

Perry's office did not immediately return a request for comment on whether the governor agreed with the board's decision or on whether he was considering a 30-day stay.

More than 93,000 people have signed an online petition asking Perry to grant Panetti clemency. He also has the support of his ex-wife and former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).

Abby Johnson, an anti-abortion activist, wrote in a recent Dallas Morning News op-ed that opposing Panetti's execution is a pro-life position.

"A fundamental tenet of the pro-life ethic is that all life has value and we are called to protect it, especially in its most vulnerable forms. A culture of life recognizes the value of those who are vulnerable and prioritizes safeguarding them," she wrote.

"By setting an execution date for Panetti, Texas is going entirely contrary to what we expect in a society that truly values life," Johnson added. "This proposed execution shows a troubling disregard toward the reality of mental illness and protecting those who suffer from it."

Mother Jones reporter Stephanie Mencimer noted that it's "unusual for conservative Christians to support a clemency petition like Panetti's." In 1998, conservatives tried to get then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush to stop the execution of Karla Faye Tucker, who had converted to Christianity in prison. (Bush went ahead with the execution.)

But this case is different.

"[Panetti's] religious fervor is the product of a brain disorder, and the evangelicals' opposition to his execution is not related to his religious proclamations," wrote Mencimer. "It is more of a reflection of the shift in public attitudes regarding capital punishment that has been driven by the growing number of exonerations of death row inmates, the high number of mentally ill and disabled people sentenced to die, and the inefficient and expensive administration of capital punishment."

Heather Beaudoin, coordinator of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, told Mencimer that the Panetti case was "the largest outpouring of support on a death penalty case we've seen from evangelicals," and the first time she was aware of Paul personally speaking out against an execution.

If Texas goes ahead with the scheduled execution, Panetti would be the 519th person to die by lethal injection in the state since 1982.

but he's still a scumbag

Quote from: Sargon of Akkad on December 03, 2014, 02:10:37 PM

Quote from: PSU on December 03, 2014, 02:06:54 PM

Quote from: Sargon of Akkad on December 02, 2014, 02:16:41 PM

Quote from: Kinder on December 02, 2014, 02:15:14 PM

O good, I suppose; believe there's a law against execution of mentally ill, but he's still a scumbag

>executing someone who is not in control of his actions is bad
>but he's scum

Wat

Whos in control is his actions?

Nobody? Because he has a disease which prevents him from consitently behaving rationally?

Poor excuse.

I ran a red light and got a ticket in the mail today. Can I say that it wasn't me because I wasn't in my right state of mind?