According to his lawyers, the man “has a debilitating mental illness” and the United States Supreme Court has prohibited the execution of prisoners who do not understand the reasons for the punishment.
The US Supreme Court refused on Wednesday to grant a pardon to a prisoner sentenced to death, to be executed in the state of Oklahoma, despite the fact that his lawyers affirm that he suffers from serious psychiatric problems.
Benjamin Cole, The 57-year-old will receive a lethal injection Thursday at 10:00 a.m. at McAlester prison in the central United States.
He had been sentenced to death in 2004 for the murder of his daughter, Brianna, nine months old. He was accused of killing her to keep her quiet so he could resume a video game.
His lawyers assure that the diagnosis includes “paranoid schizophrenia and brain damage”, says the report of the lawyers.
His condition has deteriorated to the point that he is “largely catatonic” add. “He can’t take care of his hygiene, he crawls when he doesn’t have a wheelchair and he barely communicates with the guards and his lawyers.”
With the approach of the scheduled date for its execution, Cole supporters have multiplied urgent appeals, in particular before the high court, to try to save him.
They deny pardon and order execution in the US
However, Oklahoma authorities allege that Cole is capable of being executed.
They say that the condemned is identified as “Messianic Jew” and what does it have “intelligence to speak” but keep quiet with your lawyers because they don’t understand “his extreme religiousness”, according to his presentation before the Supreme Court.
“He agreed to speak to a neutral expert at a state hospital and very clearly expressed his understanding of the sentence,” they added.
For the defense, that explanation is “improbable”.
“That he was able to have a long conversation (…) contradicts the reports of the guards, medical personnel and others who They haven’t been able to have meaningful interactions with Cole in recent years.” the lawyer said in a statement Emma Rolls.
There were 11 executions in the US this year, including three in Oklahoma.