Posted on 04/15/2007 11:20:34 AM PDT by Graybeard58
Bible-toting Scott Panetti preaches the word of God to a disinterested and largely invisible congregation from his pulpit -- a high-walled prison death row recreation area topped with a ceiling of chain-link fence.
"He gets on people's nerves," said fellow death row inmate Charles Nealy.
"He'll just start -- out of nowhere. But the man is a natural Jimmy Swaggart. He's good at it. He'll tell you in a minute you're going to hell."
Panetti's lawyers, death penalty opponents and mental health advocates describe him as severely mentally ill -- and deserving of mercy.
The double-murderer's attorneys won an opportunity to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court this week that he should not be executed, as Nealy was last month.
"Executing a person who cannot understand that his impending death is the result of the crimes for which he stands convicted adds a further dimension to this cruelty," Panetti's lawyers said in a brief to the high court.
Four courts have said he was competent when he fired his trial lawyers. A jury and two courts rejected his defense of not guilty by reason of insanity.
He personally argued that only an insane person could prove the insanity defense.
The court already has banned execution of inmates found to be mentally retarded and those who committed their crimes when they were younger than 18.
The question the high court has agreed to hear arguments on Wednesday is whether Panetti's mental illness has caused him to have a delusional belief about why Texas wants to execute him.
Panetti believes he's being executed for preaching, said his lead attorney, Keith Hampton.
Personally, I could not care less if he thinks he is being executed because he is the Tooth Fairy. Kill him.
Mentally ill death row inmate? Is there any other kind? They’re all psychopaths.
Does his insanity make him any less damgerous to staff and fellow prisoners?
Execute him. Tomorrow will be fine. Today is even better.
Put him in the chair so that He that is Judge of All may pass sentence upon this soul.
No judgment, just speeding up the process.
He gets on people’s nerves,” said fellow death row inmate Charles Nealy.
“He’ll just start — out of nowhere. But the man is a natural Jimmy Swaggart. He’s good at it. He’ll tell you in a minute you’re going to hell.”
Seems to me hell is just where this man ought to be and asap. I don’t care if he is mentally ill or perfectly normal.... Fry him.
If they are capable of doing the crime, they are capable of doing the time. If he has the faculties to kill two people, then he has the faculties to be hanged.
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