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December 2, 2008 7:26:38 PM CST

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Supremes Halt Execution of Insane Inmate

Posted Jun 28, 07 2:29 PM CDT in US 

(Newser) – The Supreme Court voted 5-4 to block the execution of a schizophrenic condemned killer because Texas criminal courts had not taken his mental health into account. Anthony Kennedy joined the court's liberals and wrote the decision, which reaffirmed previous injunctions against executing the insane; Kennedy wrote that the "punishment could serve no proper purpose."

Scott Panetti killed his in-laws in 1992, but had a history of mental illness, and called Jesus Christ and JFK to the stand in his defense. The conservative justices objected to his appeal on procedural grounds. In the last day of the court's term, Kennedy also swung to the right, lifting a 96-year-old ban on pricing floors and writing that collusion in prices didn't amount to a trust.

Source Washington Post

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(FILES)The US Supreme Court is seen 12 June 2007 in Washington...   (Getty Images)
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington in this Feb. 14, 2007, file photo. The Supreme Court adopted the more graphic...   (Associated Press)
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy gestures during an interview in San Francisco in this Oct. 16, 2006 file photo. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)   (Associated Press)
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murder • Texas • US Supreme Court • death penalty • capital punishment • execution • schizophrenia • Anthony Kennedy


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