Mental Illness Might Save Man From Death Row
Location: Little Rock
Reporter: Beth Hunt
Posted: September 28, 2004 8:09 PM EST


Little Rock - The State Supreme Court announced today
that a death row inmate scheduled to die will not be
executed tonight.

Ricky Dale Newman was sentenced to death for the 2001
murder of a homeless woman.

Newman has said he wants to die for the crime he
committed, but the high court says it needs time to
consider a new claim that newman is mentally retarded.

Rickey Dale Newman has been sitting in prison,
awaiting his death.

He was convicted of the 2001 stabbing death of a
homeless woman in Crawford County. Newman has said he
wants to be executed for the crime, but the state
supreme court issued a temporary stay of execution
last week, and announced tuesday that it will block
the execution, at least for now.

The high court says it will consider a claim that
Newman is mentally retarded and whether his aunt can
file court papers for him.

The State Department of Correction began execution
preparations, but had to put all of that on hold.

Newman remains on death row at the maximum security
unit at Varner.

(Dina Tyler, AR Dept. of Correction) "The Inmate is
still on death row, has not been moved to the quiet
cell. We did not take last meal requests, because we
don't have an execution at this point."

Both sides have been ordered to submit written
arguments, and the stay will continue until the court
makes a ruling.

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