The Death Penalty Kills the Mentally Ill
The execution of those with mental illness or "the insane" is clearly prohibited by international law. Virtually every country in the world prohibits the execution of people with mental illness.

The UN Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of those Facing the Death Penalty, adopted by the UN Economic and Social Council resolution of May 25, 1984, states: "…nor shall the death sentence be carried out…on persons who have become insane."

In 1997, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions stated that governments that continue to use the death penalty "with respect to minors and the mentally ill are particularly called upon to bring their domestic legislation into conformity with international legal standards."

In April 2000, the UN Commission on Human Rights urged all states that maintain the death penalty "not to impose it on a person suffering from any form of mental disorder; not to execute any such person."

U.S. constitutional law is in line with some of these international safeguards. The execution of the insane - someone who does not understand the reason for, or the reality of, his or her punishment - violates the U.S. Constitution (Ford v Wainwright, 1986).

Yet as recently as January 21, 2000, Larry Keith Robison, diagnosed with schizophrenia, was executed by the state of Texas. On June 22, 2000, Thomas Provenzano, who suffered from severe delusional episodes and believed he was Jesus Christ, was executed by the state of Florida. On August 16, 2000, John Satterwhite, who suffered from both mental illness and mental retardation, was executed by the state of Texas. Others with mental illness who have been executed in the U.S. in violation of international law include: Pernell Ford (Alabama); Bert Hunter (Missouri); and Juan Soria (Texas).

The Death Penalty has not spared those with mental retardation
In May 1989, the UN Economic and Social Council adopted by consensus a resolution that recommended "eliminating the death penalty for persons suffering from mental retardation or extremely limited mental competence, whether at the stage of sentence or execution."

In 1997, the UN Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution calling on states to consider abolishing the death penalty and urging those states that still retain the death penalty to refrain from imposing it on people with mental retardation.

In 1998, the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions criticized the US for executing people with mental retardation "in contravention of relevant internationals standards."

After years of outcry from the international community, in June 2002 the United States Supreme Court finally ruled that executing persons with mental retardation was unconstitutional. The ruling came too late for the 40 people with mental retardation who were executed since 1977, however, and for many more people with borderline mental retardation who were also executed during this time.

At the time of the Supreme Court ruling, 18 states had already prohibited the execution of those with mental retardation: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Washington.

All states must now comply with the ruling, following standards established by the American Association of Mental Retardation (AAMR) which defines mental retardation as: (1) substantial intellectual impairment; (2) impact of that impairment on everyday life of the individual; and (3) appearance of the disability at birth or during the person's childhood.