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Saturday, January 20, 2007

Ind. Decisions - Still more on: Timberlake Execution Stayed

Harold J. Adams of the Louisville Courier Journal has a well-worth reading story today expanding on the legal issues in the Timerlake case, touched on in Adams' story Thursday (see ILB entry here). The story begins:

The legal definition of insanity as it applies to death row inmates -- which lies at the heart of the debate over whether to execute convicted murderer Norman Timberlake -- is a shaky one.

That, at least, is the opinion of two Indiana Supreme Court justices who dissented twice over the past two years from majority opinions in favor of executing mentally ill inmates.

This week, however, they prevailed in another decision.

The two -- Theodore Boehm and Robert Rucker -- joined with Justice Brent Dickson in deciding Wednesday to halt Timberlake's execution, which had been scheduled for yesterday.

The ruling came after the U.S. Supreme Court decided this month to take another look at the definition of insanity as it pertains to those condemned to die.

The U.S. high court agreed to consider a Texas case, in which this question has been posed:

"Does the Eighth Amendment (to the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment) permit the execution of a death row inmate who has a factual awareness of the reason for his execution but who, because of a severe mental illness … does not appreciate that his execution is intended to seek retribution for his crime?"

For more on death penalty issues, including links to other resources, see this entry from Prof. Doug Berman's Sentencing Law and Policy Blog.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 20, 2007 10:40 AM
Posted to Ind. Sup.Ct. Decisions