A death row inmate facing execution this month in Indiana for fatally beating his former wife while out of prison on an eight-hour furlough is asking the governor to spare his life.

Alan Matheney has notified the Indiana Parole Board he wants a clemency hearing and will submit papers Friday asking for his execution to be blocked on the grounds he is mentally ill, his attorney, Carol Heise, said last Thursday.

Matheney, 54, killed Lisa Bianco outside her Mishawaka home while he was out of prison in Pendleton, where he was serving an eight-year prison sentence for beating Bianco and confining their two children. He was supposed to use the pass to visit Indianapolis, but instead went to Bianco's home.

Heise said Matheney has had a psychotic delusional disorder for decades.

Indiana, like most states, does not prohibit the execution of people who are mentally ill. Many mental health advocates hope the U.S. Supreme Court eventually will ban such executions, as it banned executing the mentally retarded.

Heise said she hoped Gov. Mitch Daniel will consider that argument when considering the clemency request.

Daniels last week blocked the execution of Arthur Baird II, 59, of Darlington, who was convicted of killing his parents and pregnant wife. Baird sought clemency on the grounds he was mentally ill, saying he had no control over his body at the time of the killings.

Daniels commuted the death sentence to life without parole.

In his order, Daniels noted Baird's claim that he was mentally ill, but emphasized other circumstances, including that life without parole was not an option at the time of Baird's sentencing. It became one for jurors in 1993, and prosecutors could seek it on their own in 1994.

Matheney is scheduled to die by chemical injection on Sept. 28 in what would be the state's fifth execution this year.

He is to appear before the Parole Board at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City on Sept. 19. A public hearing is scheduled in Indianapolis on Sept. 26, and the board is to make its recommendation later that day.

Matheney's attorneys argued during his trial that he was insane, but the jury rejected that defense.

Bianco's death happened just weeks into Evan Bayh's term as governor and prompted Bayh to suspend the state's prison furlough program. It was later reinstated with tightened restrictions that would have prevented Matheney's release.