The State of Texas executed Kelsey Patterson today after Governor Rick Perry rejected the parole board's recommendation for a stay. Patterson was a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic with a history of mental illness. From the reports of his execution, it was obvious he did not understand what was happening to him and why. Even the AP headline on Yahoo! News stated "Texas Puts Mentally Ill Killer to Death." Patterson was condemned for the 1992 shootings of Dorothy Harris and Louis Oates. There is no doubt that Patterson committed the murders for which he was put to death. However, there is also little doubt that his mental illness lay behind his crimes. Patterson was arrested shortly after the shootings while walking down the middle of the street wearing nothing but his socks and shouting incomprehensibly. Patterson was pronounced dead at 6:20 this evening. He was 50 years old.
Texas Puts Mentally Ill Killer to Death
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1 comment:
This was the first execution since I started this blog. I'm still processing it.
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