Posted on 02/01/2006 5:25:23 AM PST by grjr21
Death-row inmate George Emil Banks thinks he's been pardoned by God and is no longer facing execution.
He believes that his lawyers, psychiatrists and prison staff are joined in a wide-ranging conspiracy to get him to renounce God. He thinks that his itchy body rash was the work of flesh-eating demons. And he has blamed his continued incarceration on the "Islamic government of the United States."
That is the delusional world of the convicted mass murderer, according to testimony at yesterday's hearing at Graterford Prison to determine whether he is mentally competent to be executed.
While psychiatrists detailed his deteriorating mental condition, Banks, 63, huddled in a cell adjacent to the hearing room, sometimes covering his head. He sent word that he wanted to skip the afternoon session because he could not hear the proceedings. His lawyers did not object. "Mr. Banks is not with us mentally," one of his lawyers, Billy Nolas, told the judge.
The testimony painted a grim portrait of Banks as a psychotic and delusional prisoner whose mental state has deteriorated since his 1983 trial for the shooting rampage that left 13 people dead, including five of his children, in and around Wilkes-Barre in Luzerne County.
Two psychiatrists and a psychologist testified as defense witnesses that he is so severely mentally ill that he does not comprehend his looming execution or the reasons for the death sentence. Senior Deputy Attorney General Jonelle H. Eshbach contends that Banks is mentally competent, but she was barred from calling an expert who would have supported that view.
After the daylong hearing, Luzerne County Court Judge Michael Conahan said he intended to rule by the end of the month on whether Banks is mentally competent to be executed. Whatever decision he makes is likely to be appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which halted his execution in December 2004 and ordered the competency hearing. A new execution date has not been set.
All three experts testified that, in their opinion, Banks is not mentally competent under the standards set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1986 Florida case of Ford v. Wainwright, which held that the Constitution bars the execution of the insane.
"He has a delusional belief... that he has been pardoned, that his sins have been forgiven, and that he is no longer facing execution, and is awaiting release," psychiatrist John O'Brien testified.
"Does Mr. Banks have a rational grasp of his death sentence?" Nolas asked psychiatrist Richard Dudley Jr.
"No," replied Dudley, who said that when he questioned Banks about his pending execution, Banks told him that he did not think that he will be put to death.
"He said they wouldn't go through with that but may do a fake execution to fake him out to see whether he would denounce God," Dudley said.
The experts said that mental illness has remained a factor as Banks' emotional situation deteriorated over the years. Prison records described a litany of problems: He has tried to commit suicide, gone on hunger strikes, and refused medical and psychiatric treatment.
The experts testified that an array of psychiatric medications failed to stop his delusions, and that his break with reality has been consistent. All three said they did not believe he was faking.
"It's tough to malinger for 10 or 15 years, and his behavior has been consistent," psychologist Jethro Toomer testified.
The state rested without an expert to testify that Banks was competent to be executed.
The judge had barred the testimony of a psychiatrist who was prepared to testify for the state that Banks was mentally competent.
The ruling came after defense lawyers objected that the psychiatrist had spoken with Banks on one occasion outside their presence.
Eshbach had asked for more time to allow a New York psychiatrist to complete an evaluation in the case, but Conahan refused.
"We've been substantially hampered," said Eshbach, who has appealed the issue to the state Supreme Court.
The hearing was held at Graterford, where Banks is on death row, because of uncertainty about his condition.
"I don't even think he knows what's going on," said another of his lawyers, Albert Flora Jr.
Teri Schiavo was not even afforded that courtesy.
shenanigans
You assume that the psychiatrist is honest. We all have seen trials where the defendant was obviously insane and still the trial went on. This is one example:
And you are assuming the psychiatrist isn't honest.
I am not assuming, I strongly suspect it, or he can be a fool. Or both. There are many nut cases in US prisons and the general public is quite ignorant about mental disorders (or maybe just eager to punish and prosecute).
Human nature does not change and we know from history that in many times the majority of public ENJOYED executions, tortures etc ... (consider the public executions in the Middle Ages or Roman Circus)
Now answer my question, I gave this example: The Aliens Are Innocent!
What do you think about psychiatrist in that case?
Amen, brother...and none of this life without parole stuff. Look at our (I'm in Kalifornia) world famous Chilren's Story writer "Tookie" Williams; in prison for murder and causes the murder of 3 other persons.
. "Mr. Banks is not with us mentally," one of his lawyers, Billy Nolas, told the judge.
--NEWSFLASH pal. He killed 13 people. He never was "with us" mentally.
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