Mental Illness and the Death Penalty

In the trial of Ford v. Wainwright (1986), it was decided that the eighth amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, would include the execution of the mentally ill. However, this case did not determine the intensity of the mental illness that makes persecution impermissible under the Constitution. Scott L. Panetti is an inmate on death row in Texas. In 1992, he was convicted of murdering his in-laws in the presence of his wife and his three year old daughter. As a Navy Veteran, he has suffered from mental illness dating back to ten years before his crime. He was hospitalized fourteen times for schizophrenia and other serious mental disorders. His case, the Supreme Court agreed on January 5, 2007, would determine the standard of the intensity of the mental illness that makes persecution impermissible under the Constitution. Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. said that the, “retributive goal of the criminal law” is just provided that defendants are aware of “the punishment they are about to suffer” and “why they are to suffer it.” Thus, the fifth circuit, whose domain is in Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana, institutes the awareness test. The court saw that Mr. Panetti filled this requirement because he acknowledged that the state was to kill him for killing his in-laws. However, the court ignored his idea that the state was conspiring against him, his incoherency and the subpoenas he tried to issue to such persons as Jesus, John. F. Kennedy and the Pope. The Supreme Court justices have decided to hear the appeal for Mr. Panetti’s case, indicating concern for the management of capital punishment.



The eighth amendment of the Bill of Rights states that, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” This amendment has been called into question in many court cases and history and continues to today. The origin of the eighth amendment’s reference to bail comes somewhat directly from the English Bill of Rights. The part of the eighth amendment referencing excessive fines is meant to apply only to the government. Also, the fine should not be set in accordance to someone’s wealth and there has never been a set maximum fine. The cruel and unusual punishment has spurred many debates such as the one in the case of Coker v. Georgia in 1977. In this case, the Court declared that the death penalty was unconstitutionally excessive for rape of a woman and for any crime besides murder. However, some states have questioned this by passing death penalty for repeat child molesters.