Execution Date Set for Percy Walton

The Commonwealth of Virginia has set an execution date of June 10, 2008 for Percy Levar Walton, a severely mentally ill man who believes that he will come back to life after the execution and whose intellectual functioning appears to be significantly impaired. In order to be deemed competent to be executed, an inmate must understand the reality of - and the reason for - his or her punishment.

Walton faced imminent execution in April 2006, but received a six-month reprieve from Virginia Governor Tim Kaine just hours before it was set to take place. Gov. Kaine ordered and authorized an independent and nonjudicial examination of Walton’s mental state. On December 4, 2006, Gov. Kaine ordered a second reprieve - this time for 18 months, until June 10, 2008. "I am compelled to conclude that Walton is severely mentally impaired and meets the Supreme Court's definition of mental incompetence," Kaine said in a statement. "At the same time, it is within the realm of possibility -- though unlikely -- that Walton's mental impairment is not permanent. Accordingly, a commutation of his sentence is not appropriate at this time.”

There are no indications that Percy Levar Walton's mental status has changed in the last two years.

Here are excerpts from Amnesty International's Urgent Action:

"In 1999, three mental health experts concluded that Levar Walton suffers from severe schizophrenia and was probably suffering from this mental illness at the time of the crime. Walton, who was 18 years and one month old at the time of the murders, had displayed signs of emerging mental illness since the age of 16. He manifested bizarre beliefs and inappropriate behavior after his arrest, in pre-trial custody, and during the trial. In telephone calls from the jail to his family, he insisted that his mother was his sister, and referred to his father as his brother, his grandfather as his father and his grandmother as his mother. He said that he had discovered that he had two brothers, when he had none. He told his mother that he was the Queen Bee, and his grandmother that he was Superman. He told relatives that he was Jesus Christ, and that he was a millionaire. He insisted that he would come back to life as soon as he was executed, and that he would retrieve and bring back alive his grandfather who had recently died. In a 1999 affidavit, his lawyer recalled how Levar Walton 'did not meaningfully assist us in preparing a defense - Often times it was extremely difficult to communicate with Mr. Walton, and there were occasions where we could not tell whether he understood what we were saying to him. Other times it was clear from Mr. Walton's questions and responses to my questions that Mr. Walton understood little of what I was telling him.' The lawyer recalled that 'we were unable to convince Mr. Walton that he would not come back to life' if he was executed.

The defense asked for a mental health expert, and the trial judge appointed a psychologist. After a series of meetings with Levar Walton, the psychologist developed serious doubts about his competence to stand trial, finding that Walton's articulation of his thoughts was incomprehensible. He was particularly troubled by Levar Walton's notion that execution did not result in permanent death. The psychologist recommended that Walton be placed in a secure psychiatric hospital. This was rejected by the trial judge.

At first Levar Walton said that he wanted to plead guilty. Then in September 1997 he told his lawyer that he wanted to plead not guilty and have a jury trial because he was innocent. Days later, he reverted to admitting guilt. At end of that month, asked whether he would plead guilty or not guilty, he refused to speak, but responded by writing the word 'chair' on a piece of paper. He told his lawyer that he wanted to be executed in order 'to come back to life so he could be with his honeys.' In court in October 1997, he pleaded guilty to the murders, the judge accepted the plea and, after a sentencing phase at which no mental health evidence was presented, sentenced him to death. At the sentencing trial, Walton's conduct was extremely prejudicial. He repeatedly burst out laughing and smiled inappropriately. The prosecutor argued that Walton's outbursts indicated a 'sadistic, ruthless, cold-blooded murderer who has no conscience, no remorse and no right to live in a civilized society.'

Levar Walton's mental illness has worsened on death row - prison records have described an inmate who is 'floridly psychotic.' In a March 2006 ruling on his case, six judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit noted the 'substantial evidence that Percy Levar Walton does not understand that his execution will mean his death, defined as the end of his physical life.' They further noted that 'there is no dispute that since his sentencing, Walton has fallen deeper and deeper into mental illness.' According to Levar Walton's current lawyer, who has visited him regularly, Walton is unable to care for himself, such as in matters of basic personal hygiene. She has no doubt that he is severely mentally impaired.

There is evidence that in addition to his mental illness, Levar Walton functions, at best, at borderline mental retardation level and has the mental age of a young child. If the crimes for which he was sentenced to death had been committed five weeks earlier, Levar Walton would have been 17 years old and his execution would be illegal under U.S. and international law."
***
Percy Walton was sentenced to death in 1997 for the murders of an elderly white couple, Elizabeth and Jesse Hendrick, aged 81 and 80, and a 33-year-old black man, Archie Moore, in the town of Danville in November 1996. According to Viriginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Walton’s prison cell is devoid of any personal affects, except for a large pile of salt, pepper and sugar packets; he has no form of entertainment nor does he seek any. He makes no phone calls; he recives no visits from family or friends. Prison guards refer to Walton as “Horse”, short for “Crazy Horse.”

For more information, visit http://www.vadp.org/cases/walton.htm.

Quintero Found Guilty

A Harris County jury has found Juan Leonardo Quintero guilty of capital murder in the death of Houston Police Officer Rodney Johnson ("Quintero convicted of capital murder in death of HPD officer," May 8, 2008). The case now moves to the sentencing phase, where jurors will decided whether to sentence Quintero to life in prison without the possibility of parole or to give him the death penalty.

Here's an excerpt from the article that appeared in yesterday's Chronicle:

"Quintero's defense team has worked to show he is not guilty of capital murder by reason of insanity.

Two psychologists and a neuropsychologist said a childhood fall caused brain damage that caused Quintero to perceive Johnson as a threat and take unreasonable action.

'Officer Johnson was a hero. He was a family man,' Recer said. 'We have an explanation. It's just not the quick, easy, bumper-sticker explanation the prosecution wants you to believe.'

Recer said she worked to figure out what was wrong with Quintero and what he was thinking.

'Because he sure wasn't thinking like any of us,' she said.

She said Quintero's 'bad brain' has an overactive threat-detection system, usually assuaged by drinking about 24 beers a day. But on that day, Quintero had about six beers.

Quintero acknowledged in a videotaped statement that, although his hands were cuffed behind his back, he shot Johnson while locked in the backseat of the patrol car."

Defense Argues Quintero Is Insane

Here's an update from the Houston Chronicle on the capital murder trial of Juan Quintero ("Experts clash over Quintero's sanity," May 6, 2008):

"Attorneys locked horns Tuesday in a battle of experts in the death penalty trial of Juan Leonardo Quintero, arguing whether the 34-year-old was insane when he shot Houston police officer Rodney Johnson in 2006.

Testimony of neuropsychologist Ruben Gur capped the defense case, saying that his tests reveal Quintero's brain is irregular and that irregularity may have contributed to psychological problems.

Prosecutors put on two doctors from a Houston medical imaging company who said they didn't see anything unusual about Quintero's brain.

The two sides clashed over whether Gur's work identifying brain problems was scientifically accurate. Prosecutors tried to show that Gur, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, used methods that are still experimental.

Gur, and other witnesses for the defense, said Quintero has brain damage from a childhood fall.

Earlier Tuesday, Quintero's lawyer was held in contempt for withholding documents prosecutors said they were entitled to under the rules of evidence.

During an early morning hearing outside the presence of the jury, state District Judge Joan Campbell ordered that Danalynn Recer appear after the trial concludes to explain why she should not be held in contempt.

Campbell is expected to decide what punishment, if any, Recer should receive after the trial concludes.

The judge and Recer declined to comment, as did prosecutor Lyn McClellan.

David Lane, an attorney assisting Recer, said she forgot a doctor's report at her office, delaying the court about 10 minutes while it was faxed.

The documents involved the work of a doctor who testified Tuesday, bolstering assertions by a psychologist who told jurors Monday that Quintero was insane during the few minutes when he shot Johnson.

Prosecutors considered the report important for them to use during cross-examination of the doctor, D.L. Creson.

The defense team is trying to show that Quintero is not guilty of capital murder by reason of insanity.
Antonio Puente said Monday he believes the defendant meets the legal definition of 'insane.'

Quintero has acknowledged in a videotaped statement to police that he shot Johnson after being arrested in September 2006.

Quintero's attorneys have said he suffered brain damage in a childhood fall and that he shot Johnson because he perceived that the officer was a threat.

Johnson was shot seven times as he filled out paperwork in the front seat of his patrol car. Quintero was handcuffed and locked in the back seat.

Investigators have said Johnson searched Quintero, but overlooked the gun he had tucked in his waistband, after arresting him for not having a driver's license."

New Grant for Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense

The State Justice Institute has awarded the Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense $90,000 to analyze how three Texas counties -- Dallas, Tarrant, and Travis -- serve defendants with mental illness, in order to determine whether a statewide process should be implemented.

From the TX Task Force press release:

"Working with the Office of Court Administration, the Task Force will use study model programs that have been piloted in Dallas, Tarrant and Travis counties. From the study, a joint project with the Public Policy Research Institute at Texas A&M University and the National Center for State Courts, the Task Force will develop a proposal for a statewide approach to work with offenders who suffer from mental illnesses."

According to Sharon Keller, presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals and Task Force chair, 'This study will make recommendations that can help courts identify mentally ill persons in the court system and more effectively address, as appropriate to the particular case, the mental health needs of this population.'

Last year Judge Keller created a Mental Health Task Force to address the courts’ problems with mentally ill people in criminal proceedings. The Mental Health Task Force is part of a national project to improve how the mentally ill are handled in the criminal justice system.

'This project is a unique opportunity nationally to develop evidence-based practices for public defense systems to more effectively divert mentally ill offenders from further involvement with the justice system,' said Dr. Tony Fabelo, research director of the Justice Center of the Council of State Governments and a leader of the project’s advisory committee."

See http://www.courts.state.tx.us/tfid/pdf/PRmentalhealthstudySJI.pdf for more information.

(Source: Consensus Project Newsletter May 2008)

NAMIWalks for the Mind of America

This past Saturday, May 3, 2008, more than 20 members of the Houston chapter of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty participated in the Houston NAMIWalks for the Mind of America, an annual awareness-raising program of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Launched in 2003 with 12 pilot sites, the NAMIWalks Program has grown to include over 75 sites in 42 states. Proceeds from the walks help to fund NAMI's education and advocacy activities.

Many thanks to everyone in Houston who raised money for NAMI and participated in the Walk!

Lean more about NAMIWalks in your community.

Another Mother Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Valeria Maxon, who has been diagnosed with "bipolar disorder, most recent episode depressed with psychotic features," was found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) in the drowning death of her son Alex ("Mansfield mom ruled insane in boy's death," May 2, 2008). As with the vast majority of successful insanity defenses, the prosecution and defense agreed on the appropriateness of this verdict, which was delivered by Judge Wayne Salvant. Insanity must be proved by a preponderance of the evidence.

The Star-Telegram article is pasted below in its entirety. Note the description at the end of four other tragic cases of Texas mothers who have been found NGRI since 2001 as a result of their severe mental illness.

"Valeria Maxon believed that she was a witch and that her 1-year-old son, Alex, was the Antichrist. She was certain that her only child was possessed by the devil, was dying and would start the apocalypse and bring about the end of the world.

Soon, according to psychologists who later examined Maxon, she became convinced that water was the only thing that could keep the evil spirits away and save the world.

So on June 30, 2006, while her husband was out running errands, Maxon put her son in the hot tub in the back yard of their Mansfield home and let him drown.

And even now -- nearly two years later -- Maxon thinks she did the right thing.

'She thought it was horrible but that it prevented the end of the world,' psychologist Randy Price testified Thursday during Maxon's capital murder trial.

Later, state District Judge Wayne Salvant found Maxon, 33, not guilty by reason of insanity and ordered that she be sent to a maximum-security state mental hospital in Vernon for treatment rather than to prison for punishment.

'This has been a tragic situation,' Salvant said. 'I'm hoping Mrs. Maxon can get the help that is needed.'

To be found not guilty by reason of insanity, defendants must prove that they suffer from a severe mental illness or defect and did not know their conduct was wrong at the time of their crime. In Maxon's case, no one -- including the prosecutors -- disputed that Maxon was legally insane when she drowned Alex.

'It is not my duty as a prosecutor to seek a conviction, but to see that justice is done," prosecutor Alana Minton said later. "I do believe that justice has been served today.'

Maxon's defense attorney, Joetta Keene, said that she is really a 'gentle soul whose mental illness took over.'

'That mental illness caused her to kill the love of her life,' Keene said. 'We are happy that the state and the judge saw that it was the mental illness that caused Alex's death and realized that Alex's mom loved him.'

During the trial, which was decided by a judge, not a jury, a Texas Ranger, two psychologists and Maxon's sister testified about Maxon's deteriorating mental state, the drowning and a weird tape-recording that was found in the Maxons' Mansfield home.

According to testimony, Valeria Maxon was living in Moldova in eastern Europe when she met her husband, Michael Maxon, through a dating service. She moved to the United States, and, on June 12, 2005, their son, Alex, was born.

In March 2006, they learned that Alex was developmentally delayed, and soon after, Valeria Maxon's mental health began deteriorating.

'She became more and more anxious about Alex,' Price testified. 'She wasn't able to sleep and was extremely concerned about him and she began to develop delusional thoughts.'

Psychologists testified that Maxon became convinced that her son was dying and that it was her fault because he needed her breast milk. She was certain Alex was possessed and would cause the end of the earth. She believed that God sent her a message, telling her water would prevent the end of the world and Alex's suffering.

Maxon was hospitalized at least five times, from May 16 through June 30, 2006, in psychiatric hospitals in Dallas, Florida and California. On June 6, 2006, she attempted suicide by overdosing on Ambien. Doctors diagnosed severe depression with psychotic features and told Michael Maxon not to leave her alone with Alex.

But on June 30, 2006, Michael Maxon left to run errands, and when he returned home, Alex was lying dead and naked on the couple's bed. Officials said Maxon called his wife's family in Europe, put away groceries and the dry cleaning, called a business partner and then dialed 911.

On Tuesday, Michael Maxon, 54, was charged with abandoning/endangering a child. Investigators accused him of leaving Alex alone with Valeria, knowing she was unstable.

At Thursday's trial, psychologists testified that they believe that Michael Maxon exacerbated his wife's mental condition. Police found a tape in the house in which Michael Maxon repeatedly chants negative statements. He told police he played it for his wife as 'therapy' when she was extremely depressed.

'It's all so deliciously tragic,' Maxon says over and over in a singsong voice. 'It's all my fault. I really screwed up. I'm the mother; no one understands me. If I'm miserable, the whole world has to be miserable. Nobody understands. Our son is riding the short bus. It's all my fault.'

WHAT DOES THE JUDGE'S ORDER MEAN?

Valeria Maxon will remain in the state mental hospital for an indefinite period. She will stay until a treatment team determines, and a judge agrees, that she is stable enough to be released. Sometimes, the stays are relatively short.

Other cases

Since 2001, at least four other Texas mothers have killed their children and were found not guilty by reason of insanity.

In June 2001, Andrea Yates of suburban Houston drowned her five children, ages 6 months to 7 years, in a bathtub, saying she was saving them from the devil. During her 2002 trial, a jury found her guilty of capital murder and sentenced her to life in prison, but the conviction was overturned. Yates, who had a long history of mental illness, was retried and found not guilty by reason of insanity. She was committed to a state mental hospital.

Deanna Laney of Tyler was charged with capital murder in May 2003 for bludgeoning two of her sons to death with rocks and severely injuring a third. She said God told her to kill her sons. Laney was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was committed to a state mental hospital.

Dena Schlosser of Plano fatally injured her daughter by cutting off her arms with a 10-inch butcher knife in November 2004. Schlosser, who suffered from postpartum depression and exhibited hyper-religious behavior, believed she was sacrificing her baby to God. She was found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to a state mental hospital.

Lisa Ann Diaz of Plano drowned her two daughters, ages 5 and 2, in 2003. She told doctors and psychologists that they had lupus and ringworm. She was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was released from a state mental hospital in 2006."

Mental Health Month

May is Mental Health Month. According to Mental Health America (MHA), Mental Health Month was created more than 50 years ago to raise awareness about mental health conditions and the importance of mental wellness. This year’s theme focuses on an essential component of maintaining and protecting mental health and wellness: social connectedness. The tagline for this year’s observance is “Get Connected.”

Helpful materials and tools are available from at http://www.nmha.org/go/may/.