[Jaysun]

This may be an unpopular stance, but to me his mental capacity is a non-issue. If the guy is so brainsick that he couldn't resist "shooting Joe and Amanda Alvarado with a sawed-off shotgun at their Fredericksburg home." then he's just as worthy of the needle than the next guy. Once it's established that he committed the murders, the question as to why he committed the murders is irrelevant. His mental illness doesn't make his victims any less dead.

[OldPossum]

A good summation. There is no logic whatsoever as to the application of the death penalty in relation to the culprit's mental state when a murder is committed. In fact, it could be argued that this kind of individual would be more of a risk to society if he ever got out (escape or parole) than those who are not mentally unbalanced; at least some of them can be reasoned with.