Execution of Mentally Ill Killer Scott Panetti Scheduled in Texas

MOSCOW, December 3 (Sputnik) - Mentally ill convicted murderer Scott Panetti, 56, is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection in Texas on Wednesday, according to the state's Department of Criminal Justice schedule of executions.

On November 25, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled 5 to 4 against issuing a stay of execution. Despite his mental health condition, Pannetti was denied clemency on Monday. The execution is planned to take place at 6 p.m. local time (1 a.m. GMT). If the death sentence is carried out, Panetti will be the 11th person to be institutionally killed in Texas this year, Deutsche Welle reported.

Subsequently Panetti has appealed the verdict on the basis of his mental health condition. The death sentence, however, has been upheld. According to media reports, no court has deemed him mentally ill nor ordered a psychiatric evaluation.

The Panetti case has attracted broad-based criticism, with human rights experts pointing to a 1986 Supreme Court ruling (Ford v. Wainwright) that prevents states from executing murderers whose insanity makes them incapable of understanding why they are being put to death. In 2002, the Supreme Court prohibited the execution of the mentally impaired, deciding that it violated the Eight Amendment of the US Constitution prohibition of cruel and unusual punishments.

Numerous human rights organizations have called on the US federal government and the state of Texas to halt the execution, with Amnesty International referring to the decision to put Panetti to death as "shameful" and United Nation's Special Rapporteurs stating that the measure runs counter to the international prohibition of torture and other inhuman punishment.

UN experts urge #US authorities to stop execution of Scott Panetti, a mentally ill prisoner: http://t.co/4mky1WrBTO

— UN Human Rights (@UNrightswire) 2 декабря 2014