Death Penalty

In follow up to last week's information on the three volunteers scheduled for execution this week, one of the three was granted a stay.  Bobby Wilcher of Mississippi had his final meal on July 11th; then 30 minutes after the execution was scheduled to begin, he received a stay of execution from the U.S. Supreme Court.  The Court has not yet decided whether to take the case--an opinion will be issued in October with this decision. 

Wilcher's affidavit, which accompanied his motion  for appeal, read: "I previously submitted a motion to this Court asking that I be permitted to abandon all appeals in my case.  After a hearing on June 8, 2006, the Court granted my request.  Upon further reflection, I now wish to withdraw that motion and proceed with all appeals and other remedies available to me under the law.  I do not want to be executed, and I have instructed my attorneys to do everything in their power to help me avoid execution."

Volunteers for execution are those, like Wilcher, who drop their appeals, thereby virtually guaranteeing execution.  There is a high incidence of mental illness among volunteers--Wilcher has been diagnosed as suffering from bipolar disorder.

Raise your voice against other pending executions.