mental illness and justice...not...

u.s. district judge thomas phillips ruled this week that daryl holton is competent to waive his death penalty appeals...holton, a "volunteer," is scheduled for execution on september 19th...

now here's the rub - holton has suffered from major depression and psychosis for more than twenty years...however, holton's murder of his four children, an egregiously tragic event, might never have happened if he had been receiving proper treatment through the years...holton was suffering from these conditions at the time of the crime, and he has a long series of suicidal impulses which may now be guiding his behavior, especially taking into account his recent decision to die by electrocution...

and it is a public relations ruse to consider the execution of such "volunteers" as consensual... in an amnesty international usa report released in april 2001 called the illusion of control, the human rights organization argues that a decision taken by someone who is under threat of death at the hands of others can never be considered consensual...executions like (tim) mcveigh's are a form of premeditated killing, says amnesty, "a human rights violation that is a symptom of a culture of violence, not a solution to it."...

amnesty international usa remains on the cutting edge at the intersection of mental illness and the death penalty with articles such as cruel and inhumane: executing the mentally ill and groundbreaking reports like the execution of mentally ill offenders ... click here to see what michael j. fitzpatrick, executive director, national alliance on mental illness (nami) had to say about this amnesty international report...

stay tuned for actions opposing this execution or send an e-mail to threedoginn@bellsouth.net

peace out <3