The Indiana Supreme Court has denied a request to stay the execution of a man convicted in the killings of his brother and three other men. The court also denied petitions by the man's lawyers to argue claims on whether the scheduled Dec. 18 execution would violate his constitutional rights and whether he is competent to be executed. This decision marks Indiana's first state execution in 15 years.
The man, 49, was convicted in July 1997 for the murders of his brother, a 30-year-old, and three other men aged 30, 32, and 30. He has been on death row since 1999 and exhausted his appeals in 2016. Despite arguing that the execution would be unconstitutional due to his mental illness and lack of disclosure of the state's execution protocol, he submitted a handwritten affidavit last month stating his acceptance of guilt and the appellate court's findings.
His public defender mentioned that at the time of the 1997 shooting, his mental illness was evident, as he believed the victims were talking about him and acted out of paranoia. The defense team highlighted his severe paranoid schizophrenia, claiming he does not rationally understand the reason for his execution.
The Supreme Court's ruling disappointed the defense team, who plan to pursue the case in federal court to potentially pause the execution. They argue that executing a mentally ill individual serves no purpose other than inflicting inhumane and unconstitutional punishment.
Despite the defense's efforts, the Indiana Attorney General's office confirmed that the execution date remains on schedule. The last state execution in Indiana was in 2009, and the recent acquisition of the sedative pentobarbital by the state Department of Correction has paved the way for resuming executions.
