The SUPREME COURT of the United States rules in favor of Scott Panetti! U.S. SUPREME COURT REVERSES DECISION ALLOWING EXECUTION OF SCHIZOPHRENIC MAN WHO REPRESENTED HIMSELF AT TRIAL WEARING PURPLE COWBOY COSTUME Austin, Texas; Texas may not execute a severely mentally ill man who believes his execution would be the result of a satanic conspiracy to prevent him from preaching the Gospels of Jesus rather than for murdering his wife's parents, the U.S. Supreme Court said today. Scott Louis Panetti, 49, was allowed to represent himself at his capital murder trial in 1995, despite having been involuntarily committed to mental hospitals over a dozen times in the years leading up to the crime. Mr. Panetti defended himself dressed in a purple cowboy outfit and wanted to subpoena John F. Kennedy, the Pope, and Jesus. Gregory W. Wiercioch, a staff attorney with Texas Defender Service who argued the case before the Supreme Court in April, hailed the decision. He said, "The Supreme Court today reaffirms the wisdom of a legal principle nearly a thousand years old, that the execution of persons like Scott Panetti serves no purpose and offends our sense of decency and common humanity." "Today the Supreme Court recognized that executing Scott Panetti would be a mindless, meaningless, and miserable spectacle," said Mr. Wiercioch. Since his conviction and death sentence, Mr. Panetti's mental condition has deteriorated even further. Although he is aware that he killed his parents-in-law, he suffers from psychotic delusions that cause him to believe that demonic forces have conspired with the State of Texas to put a stop to his preaching by seeking his execution. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that Mr. Panetti's execution could proceed despite his irrational, delusional belief that had no connection with his crime. The Supreme Court reversed and held that the execution of persons whose severe mental illness deprives them of the ability to rationally understand the reason they are to be put to death is cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and support. Keep checking in the next few days for links to stories and articles about this ruling. Scott's potentially precedent setting case is going to the SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES! It's 2007, Thank you for your patience for the latest news. Check out the next two boxes for the latest, exciting updates regarding Scott's case! Read articles from th NY Times and Reuters by clicking HERE Jan. 5, 2007 Scott's Case to Get Supreme Court Review SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) Blog reports that The U.S. Supreme Court will review Scott Panetti's case. No one disputes that Scott Panetti has severe mental illness. His lawyers believe that his condition has deteriorated while on death row. The question now is whether he is competent to be executed. The U.S. Supreme Court decided this afternoon that it will review that standard through Panetti's case. Click here to read the update on the SCOTUS Blog (www.scotusblog.com) which watches the Supreme Court, as reported by Lyle Denniston, the dean of Supreme Court journalists Click here to read about it on the StandDown Texas Project site (which includes many links to other informative sites and articles) Feb. 5, 2007 Scott's Oral Argument Date is Set SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) Blog reports that the oral argument for Panetti v. Quarterman has been scheduled for the afternoon of Wednesday, April 18, 2007 in Washington DC. The case will be arguing the constitutionality of executing a death row inmate who has a delusion about why he is being executed. This is the ever important first step in Scott's appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. Click here to read the update on the SCOTUS Blog (www.scotusblog.com) which watches the Supreme Court, as reported by Lyle Denniston, the dean of Supreme Court journalists Click here to read about it on the StandDown Texas Project site Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and support throughout this period. It's now 2007, and we've come a long way since January of 2004. Also, thanks to EVERYONE that has contributed to Scott's defense over the last few years. Your contributions aid Scott's defenders and ensures that Scott receives the proper backing and justice in his important court proceedings. Scott Panetti's case has the chance to change the face of the Death Penalty in America click here to read the details of Scott's case Jack and Yvonne Panetti, with Scott behind the glass Scott gets a visit from his sister Jacki Scott's brother Tom visits him

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PAST ARTICLES

Read this article to learn about the details of Scott Panetti's life, case and the tragic ordeal in this excellent article written by Meg Kissinger for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Click here to read article

	WHAT CAN I DO? Thank you so much to everyone that signed the petition, wrote letters to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and everyone that flooded Texas Governor Rick Perry's office with phone calls. You made a difference! Please keep checking in daily for updates on what you can do to help in the next phase of Scott's monumental case.

	Scott, pictured here at 18, served in the U.S.Navy

	Scott's mother Yvonne contemplates what her next letter will say in this Gary Porter photo Click here to read Yvonne's 1995 plea to Judge Ables

Despite his situation, Scott keeps his spirits up and the spirits up of those around him

	Death Penalty News and Info A place to read about Death Penalty issues in the news and facts about the Death Penalty to become more informed.

	You may make an online donation to the Texas Defender Service with a credit card. They use Pay Pal for their online donations. If you are not a registered user of Pay Pal, do not be dissuaded. It is very easy to register and only takes a few moments. Please note: when you get to the Pay Pal page, it will say that your donation is going to "jmarcus@compassnet.com". Do not be alarmed by this. That is the e-mail address of Jim Marcus, the Executive Director of the Texas Defender Service. It simply means that the Pay Pal account was set up with that e-mail address. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE TEXAS DEFENDER SERVICE BY CREDIT CARD The Texas Defender Service relies on contributions to function, but they never demand a fee. They are a very special group of people who care about getting proper justice to those who don't have access to it. click here or above to go to the Texas Defender Service home page

	Click the link below to read this very insightful article by Michael King from the May 28, 2004 edition of the Austin Chronicle. It discusses the case of Kelsey Patterson, who suffered from mental illness, but was still recently executed by the state of Texas. Click here to read the article

	URGENT APPEALS This is a MUST read! AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA'S URGENT ACTION APPEAL released on January 7, 2004! A very informative document with VERY pertinent details! The Community of Sant'Egidio Releases an Urgent Appeal. Click here to read it. THE EUROPEAN UNION The International Justice Project

	TRANSCRIPTS Amnesty International composed an exhaustive and comprehensive article containing transcripts from Scott Panetti's 1995 trial and testimonials from witnesses of the trial. Reading this will give you insights and information as to what went on in the court room and how the proceedings were handled. Click here to read the article

	HBO VIDEO Scott is featured in this riveting, 30 second clip speaking from behind bars. From the 1997 HBO Special, "The Execution Machine: Texas Death Row." Brett Coomer photo of Scott click here to play video

Scott Panetti behind the glass on death row,Dec.02

	CONTACT US Victoria Panetti - Scott's sister and founder of Rap n' Rock the Death Clock victoria@rapnrockthedeathclock.com Peter Soby, Jr. - Scott's cousin and the guy in charge of the website peter@rapnrockthedeathclock.com You can send Scott an e-mail and we will print the e-mail, along with any attachments, and deliver them to Scott. scottpanetti@rapnrockthedeathclock.com Scott cannot e-mail you back, but we will send you a confirmation that we received your e-mail. If you want a letter back from Scott, please include your mailing address in your e-mail to Scott. If you would like to write a letter to Scott through the mail, send it to this address: Scott Panetti # 999-164 Polunsky Unit 12002 FM 350 South Livingston, Texas 77351

Click here to see a handwritten book of Scott's cowboy poetry

"If the world were an eye for an eye, we'd all be blind." -Gandhi

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