Sept. 14
NORTH CAROLINA:
People of North Carolina Set to Execute Mentally Ill Man
Sammy Perkins is scheduled to be executed Oct. 8, 2004,
for the death of Jo-Jo Moore.
Moore's death was a terrible tragedy and Sammy Perkins
should be punished for it. But vital evidence that could
have made the difference in life over death never made it
to the jury.
The ways capital lawyers are qualified, trained and
assisted have changed dramatically since Perkin's trial.
Today, the case would have a different outcome. Further,
jurors decided Perkins' death before they heard all of the
evidence. Without clemency, Sammy Perkins will suffer a
torturous, painful death.
The jury never heard the full story of Sammy's mental
disorder.
A family history of extreme psychiatric problems left its
mark on Sammy Perkins. Several family members suffered
from mental illnesses.
In his late teens and early 20s, the time when bi-polar
disorders are often discovered, Perkins was found ranting
in public, sometimes completely naked. From a poor family,
he was not able to get psychiatric help, treatment or
medication.
Bi-polar disorder, left untreated, is a debilitating
mental illness, with wild mood swings, depression and
manic highs during which the person can be out of touch
with reality.
As he self-medicated his moods and depression with
cocaine, heroin and alcohol, the condition worsened.
Myasthenia Gravis claimed Perkins as well. This autoimmune
disease causes muscular weakness. Prescription Prednisone,
given to Perkins to abate the symptoms, causes euphoria,
hyperactivity and is highly addictive.
The jury never heard about Sammy Perkins' break with
reality, about his bi-polar condition. Perkins had two
trial lawyers, one of whom was still a relative newcomer
to capital trials. Perkins' early bizarre behavior was not
investigated by either lawyer. No expert explained to the
jury how it affected Perkins' ability to make decisions,
how it affected his reaction to alcohol and cocaine.
Bi-polar disorder cannot be controlled if the person does
not know they have it and are not on the right medication.
Perkins did not know about his condition until it was too
late.
Had recent guidelines for appointing attorneys in capital
cases applied in Perkins' case, he would have been
assigned a lawyer with enough experience to spot this
important issue.
At the time of Perkins' trial and review, judges had
discretion to limit or refuse completely to fund expert
witnesses. A judge hamstrung Perkins' request for experts.
Recent changes don't leave those kinds of decisions up to
the trial judge. The outcome of the sentencing hearing
would be drastically different if the case was tried
today, with the new guidelines.
The jurors decided Sammy's case before they heard the
evidence.
Before all of the evidence was presented, one of the
jurors told a disinterested third person that she was
voting for death and there were others who agreed with
her. The courts have not allowed a full hearing on the
juror's conduct and so Perkins is stuck with a verdict
that was handed down by a prejudiced jury.
To allow this execution to go ahead with a jury that
pre-judged Perkins without even listening to all of the
evidence is fundamentally unfair. To disregard this flaw
makes a mockery of the phrase "trial by a fair and
impartial jury."
Lethal injection is a cruel, unusual and inhumane
procedure.
The citizens of North Carolina decided long ago that
executions be carried out humanely and therefore
eliminated all methods of execution other than lethal
injection. Unfortunately, the procedure currently used is
seriously flawed. The statutory method of execution =96
using a short-acting barbiturate followed by a paralytic
agent =96 has been outlawed for use in euthanizing dogs in
many states.
The short-acting barbiturate is supposed to anesthetize
the inmate, but it is hard to administer correctly and it
wears off quickly. The paralytic agent will then paralyze
all of Perkins' muscles, essentially causing him to
suffocate to death. North Carolina adds a third toxic
chemical to the mix, potassium chloride, in order to
hasten death. However, if the anesthesia is not
administered properly, the paralytic agent will make it
impossible for Perkins to express his suffering as the
chemical causes an excruciatingly painful death, burning
its way through his veins to induce cardiac arrest.
Toxicology reports done after three North Carolina
executions show that the inmate did not have sufficient
anesthesia in his system to deaden the pain and
undoubtedly experienced excruciating pain while he died.
After the last such execution, the state simply stopped
performing toxicology tests.
The brutal procedure that Sammy Perkins will endure is
nothing short of torture, not a humane procedure
envisioned by the citizens of this State.
The above information was prepared by Sammy Perkins' legal
defense team.
Take Action!
URGE YOUR CONGREGATION AND YOUR MINISTER TO GET INVOLVED.
Meet with your congregation's pastor, rabbi or leader. Ask
him or her to preach against this execution and again the
death penalty, even if you are sure he or she would not
want to do so.
Write an article for the bulletin and announce the
protests against the death penalty. Announce the actions
(listed below) people can take. Ask your minister or rabbi
to write a letter to Gov. Easley.
Urge your congregation to pass a resolution for a
moratorium on executions.
CONTACT NC GOV. MIKE EASLEY at:
Governor's Office, 20300 Mail Services Center, Raleigh, NC
27699-0300
Email: [email protected] or through
www.governor.state.nc.us
Fax: (919) 733-2120 or 715-3561
Tel: 1-800-662-7952 or (919) 733-5811
In addition to telling Gov. Easley to grant clemency,
please ask him to declare an immediate moratorium on
executions.
WRITE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
Letters should be brief (fewer than 250 words) and include
your name, address, and telephone number.
Editors prefer e-mail letters if you have that option.
Please let us know if any of this contact information has
changed. You can find out more about pending executions at
www.pfadp.org.
RALEIGH News & Observer, P.O. Box 191, Raleigh, NC 27602;
Fax 919-829-4540; Email: [email protected]
CHARLOTTE Observer, P.O. Box 30308, Charlotte, NC 28230;
Fax 704-377-6214; Email: [email protected]
ASHEVILLE Citizen Times, P.O. Box 2090, Asheville, NC
28802; Fax 704-252-6511; Email: [email protected]
CAROLINIAN (Raleigh), P.O. Box 25308, Raleigh, NC 27611;
Fax 919-832-3243; Email: [email protected]
DURHAM Herald Sun, P.O. Box 2092, Durham, NC 27702; Fax
919-419-6837; Email: [email protected]
GREENSBORO News & Record, P.O. Box 20848, Greensboro, NC
27420; Fax 336-373-7382; Email: [email protected]
GREENVILLE Daily Reflector, P.O. Box 1967, Greenville, NC
27835; Fax 252-754-8140; Email:
[email protected]
HENDERSON Daily Dispatch, PO BOX 908, Henderson, NC 27536;
Fax 252-436-2700; Email: [email protected]
HENDERSONVILLE TIMES-NEWS, PO Box 490, Hendersonville, NC
28793; Fax 828-692-2319; Email:
[email protected]
HICKORY Daily Record, PO Box 968, Hickory, NC 28603;
E-mail (via website):
http://www.hickoryrecord.com/letter.html
HIGH POINT Enterprise, Letter Box, P.O. Box 1009, High
Point, NC 27261; Fax 336- 841-5582; Email:
[email protected]
JACKSONVILLE Daily News, P.O. 196 Jacksonville, NC
28541-0196, Fax 910-353-7316; Email: [email protected]
TRANSYLVANIA TIMES, PO Box 32, Brevard, NC 28712; Fax
828-883-8158 (no email)
WARREN Record, PO BOX 70, Warrenton, NC 27589; Fax
252-257-1413; Email: [email protected] (Hand-signed
letters preferred.)
WILMINGTON Morning Star, P.O. Box 840, Wilmington, NC
28402; Fax 343-2227; [email protected]
WINSTON-SALEM Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC
27102; Fax 336-727-7315; Email: [email protected]
WRITE YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE, Senator, and candidates
for these offices and urge support for a bill for an
immediate moratorium on executions. Tell them about this
pending execution as showing more reasons for needing a
moratorium. Odds are great that he or she will not even
know the execution is scheduled, much less any of the
facts about the case. To find out who represents you,
click here.
GET OTHERS INVOLVED.
Announce scheduled executions and the protests against
them in your congregation's bulletin. Pass this alert
along to anyone you know who would be willing to help.
ORGANIZE A PROTEST, PRAYER VIGIL OR SERVICE.
If you would like to organize a protest, an interfaith
vigil or prayer service in your community before a
scheduled execution, PFADP can assist you with liturgies
and publicity. Contact [email protected] or (919) 933-7567.
PRAY.
Remember victims of murder and their families and those on
death row in your and your congregation's prayers.
People of Faith Against the Death Penalty
110 W. Main St., Suite 2-G =95 Carrboro, NC 27510
Tel 919.933.7567 =95 Fax 919.933.5611
[email protected] =95 www.pfadp.org
People of Faith Against the Death Penalty is an interfaith
membership organization whose mission is to educate and
mobilize faith communities to act to abolish the death
penalty in the United States. PFADP relies on its members
for support. Annual membership rates are: $25/individual,
$40/household, and $100/congregation, or whatever amount
is affordable. Checks should be made to "PFADP" and sent
to the above address.
