Scott Panetti Case Roundup: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, AFP, and more
Stefanie Faucher
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (LTE) - Sentence too harsh
AFP- Texas judge approves execution of mentally ill man
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel - Wisconsin native Scott Panetti loses latest bid to avoid Texas execution
Sawyer County Record (Hayward, WI) - Man with local ties denied stay of execution in Texas
Fredericksburg Standard Radio Post- Lawyers ask for clemency in Panetti case
http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/11/19/6302634/letters-sentence-too-harsh-continue.html
Sentence too harsh
By Scott Ruthart, November 19, 2014
I am grateful to Bob Ray Sanders for his recent column about the scheduled upcoming execution of Scott Panetti.
I am deeply disturbed by the prospect of Panetti’s execution, scheduled for Dec. 3, given his long-documented history of paranoid schizophrenia.
The fact that he was allowed to represent himself in a death penalty case despite obvious signs of deep psychosis and disconnect from reality is beyond belief and a resounding indictment of the Texas judicial system. It should give every Texan pause.
I can only hope that those who still have the power (and mental facility) to intervene will do so and commute his sentence to life in prison, which I believe is the most severe sentence we can fairly impose on people with lifelong mental illness like Panetti.
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Texas judge approves execution of mentally ill man
By AFP, November 20, 2014
A Texas judge on Wednesday refused to postpone the scheduled execution of a convicted killer who suffers from mental illness and is set to face lethal injection on December 3.
Scott Panetti, who has had schizophrenia for three decades, has won support for his case from groups like Mental Health America, psychiatrists, former judges and prosecutors and evangelical Christians.
The European Union has also urged Texas Governor Rick Perry to grant Panetti clemency.
"The execution of persons suffering from a mental disorder is contrary to widely accepted human rights norms and is in contradiction to the minimum standards of human rights set forth in several international human rights instruments," the bloc wrote in its letter.
Still, district judge Keith Williams refused to give attorneys more time to reevaluate whether Panetti was criminally responsible. He was convicted in 1995 of shooting his estranged wife's parents to death at point blank range in 1992.
At the trial, Panetti acted as his own attorney, wore a cowboy outfit and tried to call as witnesses the pope, John F. Kennedy and Jesus.
"As an obviously severely mentally ill man with schizophrenia, Mr Panetti should never have been allowed to represent himself in his death penalty case," his attorney Kathryn Kase said.
He "should not have been allowed to reject a plea deal that would have saved his life. Now, Mr Panetti must not be executed without a competency hearing.
"This is the last chance to prevent an injustice from turning into an immoral tragedy."
Though individual US states choose whether they will implement the death penalty, in 1986 the US Supreme Court barred execution of the mentally ill as cruel and unusual punishment.
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Wisconsin native Scott Panetti loses latest bid to avoid Texas execution
By Meg Kissinger, November 19, 2014
Hayward native Scott Panetti has lost his latest bid to be spared execution in Texas on Dec. 3 for the murder of his in-laws.
Panetti, 56, was first treated for paranoid schizophrenia in 1978, 14 years before he killed his estranged wife's parents. A jury in Texas found Panetti competent to stand trial and he was allowed to represent himself in the 1995 trial. Panetti babbled at certain times and declined to enter key parts of his medical record.
Panetti's lawyers, including Gregory Wiercioch, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, asked that Panetti be re-evaulated. N. Keith Williams, the presiding judge, denied the request on Wednesday.
Panetti is scheduled to die by lethal injection.
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Man with local ties denied stay of execution in Texas
By Attorneys for Scott Panetti, November 19, 2014
This afternoon, Wednesday, Nov. 19, Judge Keith Williams of the 216th District Court in Kerrville, Texas, denied a stay of execution for Scott Panetti, a man who has suffered from schizophrenia for over thirty years.
(The "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel" has reported since 1999 that Panetti is originally from Hayward.)
On Nov. 14, attorneys for Mr. Panetti filed a motion to stay or modify Mr. Panetti's scheduled Dec. 3 execution date in order to assess Mr. Panetti's competency to be executed.
Mr. Panetti has not had a competency hearing in nearly seven years.
Below is a statement from Kathryn Kase, attorney for Mr. Panetti, in response to today’s denial followed by background about the case.
"Mr. Panetti, who has been a paranoid schizophrenic for over 30 years, has deteriorated in the last several years. If there is to be any legitimacy to the capital punishment process in this troubling case, it is essential to conduct a hearing on whether or not Mr. Panetti is competent to be executed prior to carrying out his execution. As an obviously severely mentally ill man with schizophrenia, Mr. Panetti should never have been allowed to represent himself in his death penalty case. Mr. Panetti should not have been allowed to reject a plea deal that would have saved his life. Now, Mr. Panetti must not be executed without a competency hearing. This is the last chance to prevent an injustice from turning into an immoral tragedy."
Judge Williams’ Order can be accessed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxR5nee8pBYQZ1lablY2LW5YM1U5NDVTeWdJMExNQ0lUdGFB/view?usp=sharing
CASE BACKGROUND
On Nov. 14, attorneys for Scott Panetti, a man who has suffered from schizophrenia for over 30 years, and whose case has elicited widespread support for a stay of execution, filed a new Motion in the 216th District Court in Kerrville, Texas, which seeks to stay or modify Mr. Panetti's scheduled Dec. 3rd execution date in order to assess Mr. Panetti's competency to be executed. Mr. Panetti has not had a competency hearing in nearly seven years.
The Motion includes new information from incomplete records received by Mr. Panetti’s counsel over the last week from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and a recent visit by counsel with Mr. Panetti.
The newly released TDCJ records reveal that “mental health treatment professionals and correctional officers have noted alarming and aberrational changes in Mr. Panetti’s behavior over the last two years.” (p. 4) The Motion provides details on how Mr. Panetti believes he is “hearing voices” and has a “listening device implanted in his tooth.” He said he was being executed “because TDCJ wants him to ‘shut up’ about the corruption and to stop him from preaching the Gospel.” (pp. 13-16)
Based on this new information, the Motion states “counsel can now make a colorable showing that Mr. Panetti is presently incompetent to be executed under Ford v. Wainwright (1986) and Panetti v. Quarterman (2007)…[that] warrant[s] a fuller exploration by the Court.” (p. 2)
The Motion, denied in the state district court today, can be accessed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1LFfr8Iqz_7NTFwUWJSYXNablZDcnBvdzFTQUhGTWxfczJR/view?usp=sharing
WIDESPREAD SUPPORT FOR CLEMENCY
On Nov. 12, Mr. Panetti's attorneys filed a clemency petition with Governor Rick Perry and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles along with letters supporting clemency from the leading Texas and national mental health organizations and professionals such as the American Psychiatric Association, Mental Health America and Disability Rights Texas; criminal justice and legal professionals including former Texas Governor Mark White, state Attorneys General and former judges and prosecutors; 55 Evangelical leaders from Texas and nationally and 7 retired and active Bishops from the United Methodist Church and other faith leaders; Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation and the American Bar Association, among others.
On Nov. 18, worldwide support for Scott Panetti reached a groundswell with new calls for clemency from prominent individuals and organizations from across Texas and the world, including the nation’s largest grassroots advocacy organization on mental illness, National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI); NAMI’s Texas affiliate; ten legislators from Texas; former U.S. Representative Ron Paul; several more Evangelical Christians; and the European Union, which represents twenty-eight nations.
The clemency petition can be accessed through Texas Defender Service’s web page on the case: http://texasdefender.org/scott-panetti/
Three-Decade History of Severe Psychosis and Delusions
Mr. Panetti has suffered from extreme mental illness for over 30 years. He was hospitalized a dozen times for psychosis and delusions in the six years leading up to the crime for which he was convicted and sentenced to death.
The first time Mr. Panetti showed signs of being afflicted with a psychotic disorder was in 1978, over 14 years before the crime. During his multiple hospitalizations, doctors diagnosed him with chronic schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder and proscribed antipsychotic medication.
In 1986, Mr. Panetti first succumbed to the delusion that he was engaged in spiritual warfare with Satan. In an affidavit his first wife signed to have him involuntarily committed, she testified that he was obsessed with the idea that the devil was in the house. He engaged in a series of bizarre behaviors to exorcize his home, including burying his furniture in the backyard because he thought the devil was in the furniture.
Two years before the crime for which he was convicted and sentenced to death, Mr. Panetti was involuntarily committed for homicidal behavior and was found to be suffering from delusions and psychotic religiosity.
The crime for which he was convicted and sentenced to death also had the hallmarks of a severely disturbed mind. While off his antipsychotic medication, Mr. Panetti shaved his head and dressed in camouflage fatigues before going to his in-laws’ home and committing the offense for which he was convicted and sentenced to death.
Detailed information about Mr. Panetti’s medical history can be found in this mental illness timeline starting in 1978 that shows how Mr. Panetti’s mental health degenerated over the years, including how in 1986, the Social Security Administration made a determination that Mr. Panetti was so disabled from schizophrenia that he was entitled to government benefits:https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1LFfr8Iqz_7c3kzWW5nRFBib1U/view?usp=sharing
Mr. Panetti’s Trial: ‘A Miserable Spectacle’
Despite being a paranoid schizophrenic, Mr. Panetti represented himself at his capital murder trial in 1995. Wearing a cowboy costume with a purple bandana and attempting to call over 200 people to the witness stand, including the Pope, John F. Kennedy, Jesus Christ and his own alter ego, Mr. Panetti was found guilty and sentenced to death.
Mr. Panetti’s statements in court, at both the guilt and sentencing phase, were bizarre and incomprehensible. He took the witnesses stand and testified about his own life in excessive and irrelevant detail.
Mr. Panetti announced that he would assume the personality of “Sarge” and recounted the gruesome details of the crime in the third person. He gestured as if pointing a rifle to the jury box (visibly upsetting the jurors) and matter- of-factly imitated the sound of shots being fired.
Fixed Delusion that Texas is Trying to Kill Him for Preaching the Gospel
In 2004, Texas tried to execute Mr. Panetti, but a federal judge court stayed the execution and the United States Supreme Court ultimately found the Fifth Circuit’s standard for determining competency to be executed unconstitutional in Panetti v. Quarterman, 551 U.S. 930 (2007).
Notwithstanding that decision, Texas continued to contest Mr. Panetti’s competence to be executed. In 2013, the Fifth Circuit again found him competent to be executed – despite the District Court’s findings that he has a severe mental illness and suffers from paranoid delusions.
If his execution date is not withdrawn, he will go to the execution chamber convinced that he is being put to death for preaching the Gospels, not for the murder of his wife’s parents, and the retributive goal of capital punishment will not be served.
To access the letters supporting clemency, additional legal documents and other case resources, including a video, please go to: texasdefender.org/scott-panetti.
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http://www.fredericksburgstandard.com/articles/2014/11/19/lawyers-ask-clemency-panetti-case
Lawyers ask for clemency in Panetti case
By Austin R. Eck, November 19, 2014
Lawyers for Scott Panetti, who was convicted for the 1992 murders of Joe and Amanda Alvarado, are seeking to have Panetti’s sentence commuted.
Panetti’s execution date is set for Dec. 3, but in a petition filed with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Rick Perry asks for Panetti’s sentence be reduced to life in prison or a 180-day reprieve be granted so Panetti’s mental condition may be revaluated.
According the Texas Constitution, the governor may grant clemency on the majority recommendation of the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
The case has drawn national attention from death penalty opponents and advocates.
In the petition to the board and the governor, Panetti’s legal counsel, Greg Wiercioch and Kathryn Kase, outline reasons why Panetti should not be executed including how his schizophrenia has affected his ability to understand why he is facing execution.
“To this day, Mr. Panetti hears voices and experiences delusions. Chief among his delusions is the belief that the State of Texas seeks to kill him to prevent him from preaching the gospel to his fellow inmates on Texas death row and from exposing rampant corruption at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice,” Panetti’s lawyers wrote.
To be competent to face execution, the person must understand why they are being punished that way. If Panetti does not understand his execution is a result of the murder of the Alvarados, he could be found incompetent to die by lethal injection and a new punishment will be issued.
However, every court up to this point has found Panetti competent for execution, even after his case was heard by the United States Supreme Court.
Bruce Curry, 216th District Attorney, declined to comment on the current state of Panetti’s case.
Panetti’s lawyers argue that since Panetti was last evaluated for competency to face execution seven years ago, his condition has worsened.
“During that time, no cure has been discovered for schizophrenia, and Mr. Panetti’s mental condition continues to decline,” Wiercoich and Kase wrote.
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