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URGENT ACTION APPEAL
To read the current newsletter, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/newslett.html
07 January 2004
UA 06/04 Death penalty / Legal concern
USA (Texas) Scott Louis Panetti (m), aged 45
Scott Panetti, white, is scheduled to be executed in Texas on
5 February 2004. He was sentenced to death in 1995 for
killing his parents-in-law in 1992. He has a long history of
serious mental illness, including schizophrenia. He was
hospitalized more than a dozen times in numerous facilities
before the crime.
Scott Panetti and his second wife, Sonja Alvarado, separated
in August 1992 because of his drinking and abusive behavior.
Sonja Alvarado took their three-year-old daughter and went
to stay with her parents, Amanda and Joe Alvarado. She
obtained a restraining order against her husband. However,
on the morning of 8 September 1992, Scott Panetti shaved
his head, dressed in military fatigues and drove to the
Alvarados' home, taking a sawn-off shotgun and a rifle with
him. He broke into the house and shot his parents-in-law at
close range with the rifle. He allowed Sonja and their
daughter to leave. Later that day he changed into a suit and
gave himself up to the police. He subsequently said that
"Sarge" (an auditory hallucination) controlled him at the time
of the crime, that divine intervention had meant that the
victims did not suffer, and that demons had been laughing at
him as he left the house.
In July 1994 a hearing to determine whether Scott Panetti was
competent to stand trial - that is, whether he had sufficient
mental capacity to understand his situation and to assist in his
defense - was declared a mistrial after the jury was unable to
reach a verdict. A second hearing was held in September. His
lawyer testified that in the previous two years, he had had no
useful communication with Scott Panetti because of his
delusional thinking. A psychiatrist for the defense concluded
that Panetti was not competent to stand trial. A psychiatrist
who testified for the prosecution agreed with the previous
diagnoses of schizophrenia, and that Scott Panetti's
delusional thinking could interfere with his communications
with his legal counsel, particularly under situations of stress
such as in a courtroom. However, he concluded that the
defendant was competent to stand trial. The jury agreed.
Scott Panetti then waived his right to counsel, and the case
went to trial in September 1995 with the defendant acting as
his own lawyer. Scott Panetti dressed as a cowboy during the
proceedings, and gave a rambling presentation in his defense.
Numerous people who attended the trial as witnesses have
variously described the trial as a "farce", a "joke", a "circus",
and a "mockery". In post-conviction affidavits they
concluded, from their prior knowledge of Panetti and their
observations of him during the proceedings, that he was
incompetent to stand trial. For example, a doctor who had
previously treated Panetti for his mental illness stated: "I
thought to myself 'My God. How in the world can our legal
system allow an insane man to defend himself? How can this
be just?'" Another doctor who had treated Scott Panetti for
schizophrenia in 1986 concluded that Panetti was "acting out
a role of an attorney as a facet of the mental illness, not a
rational decision to represent himself". An attorney called by
Scott Panetti as a witness later stated: "The courtroom had
the atmosphere of a circus. The judge just seemed to let Scott
run free with his irrational questions and courtroom antics."
Another lawyer, who was appointed as Panetti's stand-by
counsel, wrote in an affidavit: "This was not a case for the
death penalty. Scott's life history and long term mental
problems made an excellent case for mitigating evidence.
Scott did not present any mitigating evidence because he
could not understand the proceeding." He recalled that
Panetti had dressed in a costume "like an old TV western",
including cowboy hat, trousers tucked into his cowboy boots,
and cowboy shirt. The lawyer added that Scott Panetti had
"wanted to subpoena Jesus Christ, JFK, actors, actresses, and
people who had died... His trial was truly a judicial farce, and
a mockery of self-representation. It should never have been
allowed to happen". The lawyer said that he spoke to two
jurors who "told me that Scott probably would not have
received the death penalty if the case had been handled
differently". Another lawyer spoke to two other jurors. They
"said that if Scott had been represented by attorneys that he
would not have received the death penalty". One of them
said that the jurors had voted for death out of their fear of his
irrational behavior at the trial. In Texas a jury can only vote
for death if they decide that the defendant will pose a future
danger to society if allowed to live.
Scott Panetti's father recalled in an affidavit that his son's
behavior at the trial had been "very bizarre": "I wanted to tell
the judge to stop the trial because my son was sick and
incompetent". Scott Panetti's sister said in her affidavit: "I
think that justice broke down in my brother's trial. It was not
fair to let a mentally ill man be his own attorney when he did
not know what he was doing. I am sorry to say that the trial
was a farce. It was a circus-like atmosphere. I never expected
justice to allow this." Sonja Alvarado, the victims' daughter,
has also described the trial as a "circus" and "a big joke". In a
1999 affidavit she said: "I know now that Scott is mentally ill
and should not be put to death".
A psychiatrist who evaluated Scott Panetti in 1997 concluded
that he suffers from schizoaffective disorder (a combination
of schizophrenia and manic depression). This expert added
that Panetti's "decision to waive his own counsel was under
the influence of persecutory delusions, and his ability to
represent himself in court was substantially impaired by
disturbances in his thought processes". The psychiatrist
further concluded that Panetti had not been competent to
stand trial.
The United Nations Commission for Human Rights has
repeatedly called on countries which still use the death
penalty not to use it against anyone suffering from a mental
disorder. The execution of the insane - those who do not
understand the reason for, or reality of their impending
punishment - is unconstitutional in the USA, under the 1986
US Supreme Court decision, Ford v Wainwright. This has not
prevented numerous mentally ill prisoners from being
executed. Scott Panetti's lawyer has initiated a Ford claim, but
the trial-level court has dismissed it without holding a
hearing. The issue is now on appeal to the higher courts.
Since executions resumed in the USA in 1977, 887 prisoners
have been put to death nationwide, 314 of them in Texas.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible,
opposing the execution of Scott Panetti and seeking
clemency, in your own words, using the above
information as you see fit. In appeals to the Board of
Pardons please include Scott Panetti's prisoner number
#999164.
APPEALS TO:
Rissie L. Owens, Chairperson
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
P.O. Box 13401
Austin TX 78711-3401
Fax: 1 512 406 5482
Salutation: Dear Ms Chairperson
The Honorable Rick Perry
Governor of Texas
State Capitol
PO Box 12428
Austin TX 78711
Fax: 1 512 463 1849 / 0039 / 1932
Salutation: Dear Governor
COPIES TO:
If you can send a copy of your appeal to arrive with the
defense lawyer before 16 January, please do so, to:
Michael Gross
106 South Saint Mary's Street, Suite 260
San Antonio TX 78205
Fax: 1 210 354 1920.
You may also write brief letters (not more than 250 words) to:
Letters to the Editor
Austin-American Statesman
PO Box 670
Austin TX 78767
Fax: 1 512 912 5927
Email:
http://www.statesman.com/search/content/standing/l
etters.html
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots
movement that promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept
intact, including contact information and stop
action date (if applicable). Thank you for your
help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: uan@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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