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| Mentally ill inmate is executed in Texas |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 05/19/2004 |
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A mentally ill killer was executed Tuesday evening after Gov. Rick Perry rejected a highly unusual parole board recommendation to commute the inmate's death sentence or delay the lethal injection. Kelsey Patterson, 50, a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, was condemned for a double slaying almost 12 years ago. His lethal injection has renewed the legal quandary of whether it is proper to execute someone who is mentally ill when the Supreme Court says it is unconstitutional to execute someone who is mentally retarded. At least three mentally ill prisoners have been executed in Texas since the Supreme Court ruled two years ago that severely mentally retarded inmates should not be executed. In a 5-1 vote, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles endorsed a petition from Patterson's lawyers and supporters that he be spared. Texas resumed carrying out executions in 1982, and Monday's board action marked the first time at this late stage in a condemned inmate's case the panel recommended the governor commute a death sentence. |
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