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Panetti Follow Up

By Kent Scheidegger et al.

On remand after the U.S. Supreme Court decision last June in Panetti v. Quarterman, No. 06-6407, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas has found Scott Panetti to be competent to be executed. The decision, in two parts, is here and here. The bottom line: Panetti was mentally ill when he committed his crime and continues to be mentally ill today. However, he has both a factual and rational understanding of his crime, his impending death, and the causal retributive connection between the two. Therefore, if any mentally ill person is competent to be executed for his crimes, this record establishes it is Scott Panetti. Coincidentally, this order comes on the same day the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Indiana v. Edwards on whether the Faretta rule really does require states to allow marginally competent defendants to represent themselves, the source of much controversy in Panetti's case, although not the issue before the Supreme Court in that case.continue to full post

Full post as published by Crime and Consequences on March 26, 2008 (boomark / email).