Florida executes mass murderer said by lawyers to be mentally ill

[alp227]

Source: Reuters

A Florida man who has spent 35 years on death row for killing eight people was executed on Monday despite a last-minute appeal by lawyers claiming he was insane.

John Errol Ferguson, 65, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1978 for a pair of killing sprees, was pronounced dead at 6:17 p.m. EDT from lethal injection, said Misty Cash, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections.

Hours before his execution, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Ferguson a stay of execution. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) filed an amicus brief last week, along with three Florida mental health organizations, asking the top court to halt the execution, arguing Ferguson had a long history of severe mental illness.

The brief argued Ferguson's execution would violate the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requiring an individual to have a rational understanding of why he is being put to death and the effect of the death penalty.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/05/us-florida-execution-ferguson-idUSBRE97413N20130805

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Miami Herald also has a report.

[tumtum]

1. The guy has been on DR for 35 years,

why not just commute his sentence to life w/o parole and let him finish his days in prison?

[msanthrope]

3. It's Florida, and the guy killed 8 people. Not going to happen. nt

[Pterodactyl]

5. It's Governor Reubin Askew's fault. He should have done that right after the sentencing.

[zbdent]

2. just trying to catch up with Texas, apparently ...

[freshwest]

4. I had questions about this on the previous thread:

John Errol Ferguson execution stopped again



Ferguson was convicted of shooting eight bound and blindfolded people in south Florida in 1977, then killing a teenage couple months later in 1978 after they left a church event to get some ice cream. He had previously been ruled mentally competent to be executed and over recent days federal judges in Florida, Georgia and Washington have wrestled with his appeals.

The execution had been scheduled after the Florida supreme court this month upheld a lower court ruling based on testimony by a panel of psychiatrists appointed by the state governor, Rick Scott. The state justices wrote that "Ferguson understands what is taking place and why".

The latest ruling from the federal appeals court said it would explore whether the Florida supreme court's decision was an "unreasonable determination of the facts" based on Ferguson's documented history of mental illness.

His lawyers have argued that Ferguson lacks rational understanding, because he suffers from delusions and believes God is preparing him to return to Earth after his execution to save the US from a communist plot.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/oct/24/john-errol-ferguson-execution-stopped/print

...The state justices wrote that "Ferguson understands what is taking place and why"...

Really? Look at what he believes will happen after he's dead:

...he suffers from delusions and believes God is preparing him to return to Earth after his execution to save the US from a communist plot...

The article doesn't go into something that might be taken into account. They say he was competent 30+ years ago.

Did he understand what he was doing when he did the killings, then went off the deep end in the last quarter century of being on Death Row - and if so, doesn't that make him not eligible for execution in some way?

And I don't trust anyone hired by Voldemort to assess him. Why would they bother to execute him after all this time. Is it political or economic?

If the appeal wins, is a person sentenced to death instead of life in prison going to be released? Is that why all the pig-headedness over these cases, that there is no back up plan in place?

It seems you can't ask for both sentences in case one is overturned, like giving a jury multiple choices to decide on several verdicts, like murder, manslaughter, negligent homocide, etc.

This is a problem with the death penalty, above and beyond discrimination, the chance for corruption or errors, from this all or nothing approach. I wish there was a verdict that read like 'Don't let this person loose again.'

Just some questions that this made me think about. TIA to anyone who has an opinion or expertise on this kind of thing.

[Socal31]

6. I don't necessarily mind the execution for such crimes...

But 35 years? Seems cruel and unusual to me. Nobody would have noticed him serve his natural life in prison. He probably didn't have too much time left, anyway.

[branford]

8. I do not believe that the length of time in prison before execution should be determinative.

I understand that many oppose the death penalty (my own views continue to evolve). However, I'm always struck by the oddity of complaining about how long someone is on death row as a primary point of opposition to the DP. The length of time a DP offender spends in prison is not due to the power of the State, but rather because we demand that all convicted criminals be permitted extensive appeals. These appeals simply take time if they are to be considered in a manner commiserate with their importance. These type of complaints have already resulted in federal laws limiting criminal habeus applications and scope of review. I, nor I assume most other liberals at DU, would want to see a further erosion of criminal appellate rights. Be careful what you wish for.

As I see it, it is either wrong (constitutionally permissible) for the State to kill an individual or it is not (and distinguished by instances such as war). I really don't care if the offender has found god, writes books for children or is it an unrepentant, violent psychopath. Similarly, the cost of incarceration is a political issue left to voters, not courts. Whether our democratic friends and neighbors permit the DP is also of little concern. Every culture is unique and political and geographic boundaries have meaning. Their reasons for having and enforcing their own laws might be persuasive, but we have our own legal culture. For instance, many countries in Europe do not have juries, have criminal "hate speech" and Holocaust denial laws, and the EU just recently effectively eliminated sentences of life without parole. To the extent constitutional, I cannot imagine these issues ever gaining significant popular support in the USA. Ironically, as the existence of LWOP is a common reason to oppose the DP, its elimination in the USA would likely increase support for the DP.

I find the issue of racial disparities in the criminal justice system somewhat persuasive and important. However, statistics are very complicated and can be interpreted to mean many different things depending on context. I used to practice employment law, and as any such lawyer can tell you, the statistics can be made to state whatever is convenient (expert witnesses will also say almost anything for the right price). The matter is further complicated by the issue of vast prosecutorial discretion as a foundation of our system. Racial disparity also does not address the inherent consitutionality of the DP. If the DP is itself constitutional, statutory or common law protections for minorities (and ironically whites are a minority in some areas, e.g., Detroit) solves the problem.

[7962]

9. Shouldnt take more than a year. Ridiculous.

And if the law was changed to where the death penalty could only be given when there is NO DOUBT as to the guilt of the defendant, there's be no reason for these ridiculous never ending appeals. Do away with the "reasonable doubt". There should be NO doubt.
And it sure is easy to use "im crazy" or "im challenged" as an excuse. I imagine any of us here could answer the right questions the right way. Or put on an act long enough.
We dont need an electric chair, we need electric bleachers.
I now await my du slamming for being honest.......

[Judi Lynn]

7. The country will never be civilized until it stops execution. No excuses. n/t

[ConcernedCanuk]

10. Even then Judi Lynn,

.
.
.

USA's got a long way to go

Like stopping eternal war maybe??

CC

[MrScorpio]

11. Death Penalty = Legalized revenge murders by the state nt