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Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Ind. Law - Senate Bill 24 would ban executions of mentally ill
In an ILB entry from Jan. 18 on the staying of the Timberlake execution, a Fort Wayne Journal Gazette editorial is quoted which mentions:
Senate Bill 24, sponsored by Michigan City Democrat Anita Bowser, would establish a procedure for determining whether a defendant charged with murder is mentally ill and would prohibit a sentence of life imprisonment or the death penalty if the defendant is determined to be mentally ill.Mike Smith of the AP wrote more on the bill yesterday, when it was considered in a Senate committee. The story begins:
The state would be prohibited from executing people who were severely mentally ill at the time they committed murder under legislation a Senate committee is considering.The Senate Committee on Corrections, Criminal and Civil Matters heard about an hour of testimony on the bill by Democratic Sen. Anita Bowser of Michigan City but did not vote.
Sen. Brent Steele, a Bedford Republican and committee chairman, said the bill involved "weighty" issues and he wanted members to give more thought to them.
He also said the panel might want to forgo any action until the U.S. Supreme Court issues a ruling that could change the standard for executing mentally ill persons by offering a new interpretation of the Eighth Amendment, which bans cruel and unusual punishment.
The Indiana Supreme Court stayed an execution earlier this month for a convicted murderer who said his life should be spared because of his mental illness. Norman Timberlake was scheduled to die Jan. 19 for the 1993 slaying of a state trooper, but the state's highest court said it wanted to wait for the U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
Indiana law prohibits executions of those who are mentally retarded, which is primarily tied to a person's IQ. Indiana also prohibits executing those who were 17 years old or younger at the time they committed murder.
Bowser's bill defines a mentally ill defendant in capital cases as someone who has a severe mental disorder or disability that significantly impairs the person's capacity to appreciate the nature, consequences or wrongfulness of his or her conduct; to exercise rational judgment in relation to that conduct; and to conform the conduct to requirements of the law.
It would not include a disorder manifested primarily by repeated crimes or attributed solely to the acute use of alcohol or other drugs.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 31, 2007 03:39 PM
Posted to Indiana Law