[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----USA, KY.

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 10



USA:

Waiting to Die: The Cruel Phenomenon of "Death Row Syndrome"----As
prisoners across the country spend decades awaiting execution, the
psychological effects are devastating.


The length of time convicted murderers wait for their execution is
steadily rising in the U.S., raising concerns that more will suffer from
the mental illness known as "death row syndrome."

The United States' 3,300 death row inmates can now expect to wait an
average of 12 years from the day of their sentencing to death by lethal
injection or electric chair, a doubling of the time gap in the mid-1980s,
according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice.

This increase is mainly due to mandatory appeals introduced after capital
punishment was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976 after a four-year
suspension. These reforms have led to lengthier appeals, according to the
Washington-based Death Penalty Information Center.

The 667 death row inmates in California can expect to wait nearly 20
years.

California's last execution was in January 2006. A month later, a judge
halted the execution of Michael Morales, already on death row for 25
years, calling for measures to ensure no unnecessary pain during a state
killing. The temporary moratorium put in place then has not yet been
lifted.

In other death penalty states, inmates have also sometimes waited a
quarter of a century or more to know the date of their execution, reprieve
or exoneration.

On Sept. 16, Jack Alderman was executed in Georgia for killing his wife in
1974 after spending 33 years on death row.

In April, Renardo Knight had spent nearly 25 years on death row before his
conviction was reversed due to evidence tampering.

Last year, Carey Dean Moore was moved from Nebraska's death row after
waiting 27 years for the electric chair. The state's Supreme Court ruled
this method of execution -- the only one on its statute books -- was
unconstitutional.

Typically, death row inmates wait out the years for their punishment alone
in solitary confinement, spending 23 hours a day in their cells. They are
excluded from prison training and recreation programs. Visits and exercise
privileges are restricted.

A few states, such as North Carolina, California and Georgia, allow
varying levels of communication between death row inmates.

"There is a distinct syndrome associated with solitary confinement,"
Stuart Grassian, a psychiatrist and former professor at the Harvard
Medical School of Psychiatry, told IPS.

In published research he has found that in the most sever cases this can
lead to "agitation", "psychotic" and "self-destructive" behavior.

The healthy "often" became mental ill. There was a "severe" deterioration
in the condition of those already mentally sick.

Grassian said the long appeals process of the condemned was "most
worrisome".

"There is an enormous agony in endlessly, and helplessly, waiting while
others decide whether you live or die.

"Generally, over time, the inmate learns he cannot afford to actually
befriend his fellows; they keep disappearing into the death chamber. The
horror of all that, the endless tedium and tension, often proves
unbearable."

Rights activists say an illustration of the mental damage being done is
seen in the case of Raymond Riles, on the Texas death row for the past 33
years. No execution date has been set because he suffers from delusions
and paranoia. But in 1975, there were no mental health barriers in the way
of his sentencing.

They also suggest "death row syndrome" may have played a role in the
decision of 131 death row inmates since 1976 abandoning their appeals and
"volunteering" for a quick execution.

"Many inmates in these circumstances cannot stand it any longer, fire
their attorneys, drop their appeals, and hence "volunteer" for execution,
said Grassian.

75% of these "volunteers" had a history of mental illness, according to
John Blume, professor of law at Cornell University.

Rights activists have also raised concerns at the difficulties inmates
with "death row syndrome" may face when their appeals succeed and they are
given a lesser sentence and transferred to cells in the general prison.
Only Missouri does not segregate death row inmates from the rest of the
prison population.

The problems of adaptation and regaining their mental health may be more
acute when they are exonerated and leave prison. So far this year, 4 death
row inmates have been exonerated, bringing to 130 the number since 1973.

Experts question the reasoning behind the austere, often mentally damaging
conditions on death row.

"The rational is that these inmates have nothing to lose and therefore
they are potentially the greatest security risk," Grassian said.

But it had been proven that they were "less violent and disruptive than
many other groups".

Ronald Tabak, a New York-based lawyer experienced in capital punishment
issues, agreed.

"They tend to be less dangerous than other prisoners," he told IPS,
adding: "There is no public sympathy for those who are sentenced to
death."

Despite the growing debate about the "death row syndrome", the Supreme
Court has yet to hear a case on the issue.

But 2 justices -- Stephen Breyer and John Paul Stevens -- have questioned
the constitutionality of the long delays between conviction and the
carrying out of executions.

The issue was "an important undecided one", Breyer said in 1995 during a
ruling on the case of Clarence Allen Lackey. Lackey, who was executed in
1997, served almost 20 years on death row before his sentence was carried
out.

So far this year, there have been 30 executions in the U.S., the most
recent in Texas on Oct. 30.

(source: AlterNet)






KENTUCKY:

Judge: Ky. Inmate Competent To Seek Own Execution


In Frankfort, a judge said a Kentucky death row inmate is competent to
fire his public defenders and seek his own execution.

Special Judge Roger Crittenden presided over a hearing Friday in the case
of 36-year-old Marco Allen Chapman, who is scheduled to die by lethal
injection on Nov. 21.

Crittenden has scheduled another hearing next week hear from a doctor who
examined Chapman, but said he will issue an order declaring Chapman
competent.

Public defender Heather McGregor said once such an order is issued,
defense attorneys will withdraw requests to stop the scheduled execution.

Chapman pleaded guilty in 2004 to killing 2 children and attacking their
mother and sister in the Gallatin County town of Warsaw.

(source: Associated Press)