June 16
LOUISIANA: Bill outlines competency to die----Severe mental illness will prevent execution Prisoners on Louisiana's death row who are so mentally incapacitated that they don't understand that they are going to die could be spared execution after being examined by medical experts, under legislation approved Tuesday by a House committee. Senate Bill 781 by Sen. Art Lentini, R-Kenner, stems from a 1986 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that states cannot execute a person "whose mental illness prevents him from comprehending the penalty or its implications." In consideration of an appeal by a death row inmate, the Louisiana Supreme Court in January said the Legislature needed to come up with a process to determine the mental competency of a prisoner who is sentenced to die by lethal injection. If the Legislature did not come up with a process, the court said it would be "forced to issue such guidelines." The bill is backed by criminal defense attorneys and prosecutors, Lentini told the House Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice, which sent the proposal to the House floor for more debate. According to the proposal, legal representatives for a prisoner sentenced to death can file a petition with the district court laying out the facts of his or her mental incompetence. If a judge finds it has merit, a competency commission of 2 or 3 medical experts, including at least one licensed psychiatrist, would evaluate the prisoner and his or her history. The court would then hold a hearing to consider the evidence and make a determination about whether the inmate is competent enough to be executed. *********************** Clemency bill awaits Blanco's signature----Law would reduce chances for lifers A proposed law awaiting Gov. Kathleen Blanco's signature would reduce the opportunities for prisoners serving life sentences to apply for clemency hearings. House Bill 574 has drawn criticism from an inmate advocacy group since clearing both chambers. Members of Louisiana CURE, which stands for Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants, said the bill passed after one of its co-sponsors gave misleading testimony about the pardon system. Under the proposal, inmates would be allowed to apply for a Pardon Board hearing in their 15th year in prison, their 22nd year and every 5 years thereafter. Under current law, "lifers" can apply in their 15th year, 21st year, 24th year and every 2 years thereafter. Rep. Dan "Blade" Morrish, D-Jennings, one of the bill's 4 co-sponsors, said he drafted the new timeline after hearing Anna Belle Istre's story. The elderly Jefferson Davis Parish woman, whose two sons were murdered in 1977 while hitchhiking, told him one of her sons' killers appeared before the Pardon Board every two years. Morrish said the woman desperately wanted her suffering to bear on the inmate's fate but that the hearings tore her down emotionally and she considered not going to future hearings. Pardon Board records show a different timeline for the inmates serving life sentences in the double-murder. Kirk Charles, 47, was granted hearings in May 1995 and November 2003. Co-defendant Harold Herbert, 55, hasn't applied for a clemency hearing. Diane King Smith of Metairie, president of Louisiana CURE, said prisoners with legitimate applications for clemency consideration shouldn't be stripped of their few opportunities for hearings. Smith, whose husband is serving a life sentence at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola for 1st-degree murder, said victims or their families don't have to attend the hearings to influence the board. They can submit written statements not subject to public disclosure or testify by telephone. The group has asked Angola inmates to write the governor expressing opposition to the legislation. Of the 971 inmates who requested clemency hearings in fiscal 2002-03, the Pardon Board granted 288 hearings, according to that year's executive budget. The board recommended 59 inmates for pardons, and former Gov. Mike Foster approved 25. (source for both: Times-Picayune)
