As a recent Texas case illustrates, the question often rests with the trial court judge
On February 1, 2018, the State of Texas executed John David Battaglia, a man who had been convicted of shooting and killing his two young daughters while his estranged wife was on the phone with him. While there is little doubt that Battaglia committed the crime, his attorneys raised a number of questions as to his mental health after he was convicted and sentenced to death in 2002.
The United States Supreme Court has held that the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution prohibits the execution of the “insane” as a form of cruel and unusual punishment. The problem, however, is that standard set out for who is considered insane is incredibly vague. As an Orange County criminal defense attorney can explain, a person is considered incompetent to be sentenced to death if he or she cannot rationally understand the reasons for their execution.
Connecticut is the only state that has a specific exemption for defendants whose “mental capacity was significantly impaired or his ability to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law was significantly impaired but not so impaired in either case as to constitute a defense to the prosecution.” In other words, Connecticut exempts defendants from the death penalty who may be competent to stand trial but whose mental capacity was impaired at the time that he or she committed the crime. A number of states, including Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, have introduced legislation that would prohibit the death penalty for people who suffered from a mental illness at the time of their crime. Many of these bills list specific mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive visored and delusional disorder. California has not yet introduced a bill that would exempt mentally ill defendants from the death penalty, according to an Orange County criminal defense attorney.
This brings us back to the execution of Mr. Battaglia. While Mr. Battaglia was a successful certified public accountant (CPA) and highly intelligent, three separate psychological examinations — including one hired by the prosecution and one hired by the court — found that he suffered from delusional disorder. This disorder made him believe that he was being conspired against, followed, cheated on, poisoned or drugged, harassed, and maligned. All three reports found that Mr. Battaglia was not faking these symptoms. Yet despite these evaluations and this diagnosis, the judge determined that Mr. Battaglia had a master’s degree and was intelligent enough to fake the symptoms. As such, Mr. Battaglia was sentenced to death. His appeals to Texas courts and federal courts were denied. He was the third inmate to be put to death in the United States in 2018; the other two were also from Texas.
While the death penalty is controversial, there are many important aspects of its application that should be discussed to make sure that it is being fairly applied. At the Chambers Law Firm, our Orange County criminal defense attorneys represent people who have been charged with all types of crimes, including those that may result in the death penalty. Contact us today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free initial consultation and learn more about how we can defend your rights and freedom.
