Posted on 05/18/2004 6:29:44 PM PDT by new cruelty
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) - A mentally ill killer was executed Tuesday evening after Gov. Rick Perry rejected a parole board's highly unusual recommendation to commute his death sentence or delay the execution.
Kelsey Patterson, 50, also lost an appeal to the Supreme Court in the hour before he was put to death.
A diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, Patterson was condemned for a double slaying almost 12 years ago. His lethal injection 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.
Strapped to the death chamber gurney, Patterson mumbled, "No kin, no kin, no kin. I'm not guilty of a charge of capital murder. Give me my rights. I'm acquitted of capital murder."
As the warden leaned over him and asked if he had a final statement, Patterson responded, "Statement to what? Statement to what? I'm not guilty of the charge of capital murder."
He continued to ramble, saying "give me my life back" as the lethal drugs took effect. He was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m.
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.
"State and federal courts have reviewed this case no fewer than 10 times, examining his claims of mental illness and competency, as well as various other legal issues," Perry said in a statement less than an hour before Patterson's execution time. "In each instance the courts have determined there is no legal bar to his execution."
Patterson's lawyer, J. Gary Hart, said he was outraged by his client's death.
"I don't even know what to think about this," he told The Associated Press. "I didn't see what the downside would be for (the governor) to follow the recommendation of the parole board."
Patterson was condemned for the 1992 shootings of Dorthy Harris, 41, a secretary at an oil company office in Palestine, and her boss, Louis Oates, 63.
Evidence showed Patterson left his home in Palestine, about 100 miles southeast of Dallas, shot Oates in the head with a .38-caliber pistol and then shot Harris when she began screaming.
Then he went home, took off his clothes and was arrested walking on the street.
Harris' daughter, Michele Smith, sobbed after watching the execution.
"I want to especially thank the governor for giving me a chance to start again and have an end to such a horrible time in my life," she said.
"I started the day off very pessimistic, but it ended as I prayed it would."
In 1980 in Dallas and in 1983 in Palestine, Patterson was ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial on charges related to nonfatal shootings.
Throughout his trial, outbursts earned Patterson repeated expulsions from the courtroom. He frequently talked about "remote control devices" and "implants" that controlled him.
While on death row, he wrote nearly incomprehensible letters to courts about having amnesty and a permanent stay of execution.
In March, Perry for the first time since taking office in 2000 commuted the death sentence of a prisoner. That inmate is mentally retarded, and was not within hours of a scheduled execution.
In 1998, four days before former self-confessed serial killer Henry Lee Lucas was to die, then-Gov. George W. Bush commuted Lucas' sentence after questions were raised about his conviction. It was the only death sentence commuted by Bush in his six years in office when 152 executions were carried out.
And another one down
and another one down
another one bites the dust
Quandry? Is that wimpese for "ain't got the huevos to do what's right"? We ain't got no quandries in Tejas.
Didnt he put someone to death first?
Exactly -
I just don't understand why a person who is "mentally ill" or "defective" deserves any less than someone who is not "defective". ANYONE who takes the life of another in cold blood is an animal that should be thinned from our ranks - period.
I must be really cold-hearted and un-feeling.....
Yipee!
Gotta keep the count up in (if it moves - kill it) Texas. One track minds all lead to dead ends. With all the executions in Texas they MUST have the lowest crime rate in the world by now.
I don't like the use of lethal injection as the form of execution. I think we should not use the implements and techniques of healing to cause death. An execution should be done with rope or rifle, in broad daylight, in public, accompanied by ceremony. The names of the murderer's victims and court's sentence read aloud</p>
Don't know about the crime rate but you can bet the Great Lone Star State is a little safer tonight. GOD BLESS TEXAS
You got that right.
Texas is a great place to live and raise a family.
Friendly folks, wonderful climate, fishing and hunting. You name it.
But dont come down here thinking of raping, robbing and killing.
You will be dealt with very harshly
Sad case all around.
And the point of keeping him alive would be?
What use is this person for society? Can't trust him to be released in the world again, and no point in keeping him alive in prison forever. Guess I am cold and heartless too.
They have done a nice job of taking care of the backlog in capital cases. Certainly none of those will ever kill again.
Then again, maybe he wouldn't have.... Next!!
That's not going to fly around these parts.
A- A college degree is better than nothing.
B- Nothing is better than a good command of the English language.
Ergo from A & B, a college degree is better than a good command of the English language.
No agenda with this write-up, is there?
I may be the only one, but I don't equate mental illness with mentally retarded. There's a difference between being incapable of distinguishing right from wrong and having some emotional problems.
Yup. What are we supposed to do--give him pills and therapy, turn him loose, and cross our fingers hoping he holds together and doesn't blow again?
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