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> Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 16:54:44 -0400
> From: ncadp@mail.democracyinaction.org
> To: julienball
> Subject: NCADP June Execution Alert
>
> National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
> e - @ b o l i t i o n i s t
> June 2006
> Please forward and cross-post this message widely. If you received this
message from a friend, subscribe free at
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/signUp.jsp?key=28
> -----------------------------------------------
> Six Executions Scheduled in June
> During the first and final weeks of June, six people are scheduled to be
executed, half of whom are in Texas. Two cases this month highlight issues of
severe mental illness.
> The first is Percy Walton, scheduled to be executed by the state of Virginia
on June 8th. Walton has been diagnosed with severe chronic schizophrenia and is
unable to comprehend his impending execution.
> The second is Paul Dennis Reid, scheduled to be executed by the state of
Tennessee on June 28th. The TN Supreme Court has conceded Reidıs mental illness
and incompetence, yet the execution is still set to take place.
> Read more about these and the other cases below -- and ACT!
> -----------------------------------------------
> Do Not Execute Percy Walton!
> Throughout his appeals, Waltonıs attorneys have argued that he was not
competent to plead guilty to the murders, and that his pleas were not knowing,
intelligent, and voluntary. While awaiting trial, Walton expressed his belief
that he could not be seen if he had his eyes closed. He also told his relatives
he was Jesus Christ and that he was a millionaire. He told others he looked
forward to his execution because then he would be able to return to life
immediately and resurrect his dead family members.
> In 1999, a psychiatrist, a neuropsychologist and a neurologist assessed
Walton's mental health for his appeals and found that he suffers from severe
chronic schizophrenia. Today Walton is a shell of a human being, severely
mentally ill and cognitively impaired and completely unaware that he faces
imminent execution.
> ACT NOW by contacting Gov. Tim Kaine requesting that he stop the execution of
Percey Walton!
> Read More and Take Action at:
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3864
> -----------------------------------------------
> Do Not Execute Paul Reid!
> Questions regarding Reidıs competency to be executed lie at the heart of his
case.  Reid has a history of mental illness, but no court has found him to be
mentally incompetent despite the evidence of such illness staring them in the
face.  Notably, in a reply to the stateıs opposition to Reidıs motion for a stay
of execution in October of 2005 the Tennessee Supreme Court stated: ³All
forensic mental health evaluators who have examined Mr. Reid within the last
several years have found him to be severely mentally ill and incompetent with
regard to making legal decisions.²  Moreover, in a footnote to this statement,
the Court noted that Reid is operating under a psychotic belief that he is being
tortured by scientific technology and that the only way to escape the torture is
to succumb to execution.
> How can a court that recognizes the reality of Reidıs mental illness and
incompetency allow Reidıs execution to move forward?  The Tennessee Supreme
Court goes on to acknowledge the importance of competency, stating that it is a
fundamental right, and that therefore Reid is entitled to the proper protection
when the state proposes to take drastic action against him.  If this was a
worthy reason to grant a stay in October, what has changed since then to allow
the execution to proceed?
> ACT NOW by contacting Gov. Phil Bredesen and asking that Paul Reidıs execution
be halted!
> Read More and Take Action at:
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3867
> -----------------------------------------------
> See and act on all current Execution Alerts at
> http://www.ncadp.org/execution_alerts.html
> June 1: John Boltz, OK
>
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3862
> June 6: Timothy Titsworth, TX
>
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3863
> June 8: Percy Walton, VA
>
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3864
> June 20: Lamont Reese, TX
>
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3865
> June 27: Angel Resendiz, TX
>
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3866
> June 28: Paul Reid, TX
>
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3867
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