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| Missouri Man Scheduled for Execution Given Stay |
| By St. Louis Post Dispatch |
| Published: 05/30/2002 |
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Christopher Simmons, who was 17 when he helped bind a woman and throw her into the Meramec River, won a stay of execution Tuesday from the Missouri Supreme Court. Simmons, formerly of the Fenton area, was scheduled to die by injection on June 5. The court said it would stay the execution until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a Virginia case in which the killer was mentally retarded. That case, Daryl Renard Atkins v. Commonwealth of Virginia, hinges on whether imposing the death penalty on mentally retarded capital defendants violates the 'cruel and unusual' punishment clause of the Eighth Amendment. A clemency plea before Gov. Bob Holden argues that Simmons suffered from Schizotypal Personality Disorder and drug and alcohol dependence at the time of the killing, and says that evidence was not shared with the jury. Schizotypal Personality Disorder can be characterized by eccentric appearance or behavior, paranoia or belief in psychic phenomena. Simmons' lawyer, Jennifer Brewer, could not be reached for comment. Simmons' level of intelligence had not been raised previously in the case. This is the second time the Missouri Supreme Court has postponed an execution date for Simmons. The court postponed a May 1 execution date on April 24 without giving a reason. At the time, state lawmakers were considering a bill that would have raised the minimum age for the death penalty. Death penalty opponents have been fighting the execution and noted that Simmons, now 25, was a juvenile at the time of the murder. Missouri law allows the execution of anyone 16 or older who commits first-degree murder. Scott Holste, a spokesman for Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, said he could not comment on Tuesday's decision. He said the U.S. Supreme Court was expected to make a ruling in the Atkins case by the end of June. Holste said Simmons had another appeal pending before the Missouri Supreme Court. Jerry Nachtigal, a spokesman for Holden, said the governor had Simmons' clemency application before him. 'The case remains under review,' Nachtigal said. 'It will be treated like any other death penalty case that reaches the governor. There will be a thorough top-to-bottom review of the case, including the circumstances of the crime, verdict and punishment and appeals and the weight of the clemency petitions.' |
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