Fed panel orders review of Miss. death row case
9:36 AM, Mar. 2, 2012 |
JACKSON
— A federal appeals panel has ruled Mississippi's process of evaluating
the mental competency of death row inmate Robert Simon Jr. was unfair.
The three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a Mississippi federal judge to take another look at Simon's case.
Simon was sentenced to death for the killings of three members of a Quitman County family. He got a life sentence in the death of a fourth family member. A 5th Circuit panel stopped Simon's execution last May because of questions about the procedure and directed attorneys to file briefs on the mental evaluation issue.
The Mississippi Supreme Court temporarily delayed Simon's execution last April to give prosecutors and the defense time to review Simon's medical records. That ruling came amid a claim by Simon's attorney that the inmate had suffered a fall and could not understand his case and had trouble carrying on conversations.
Court records show Simon was found unconscious in his cell on Jan. 7, 2001. He spent several days in the hospital at the Parchman state prison. He was examined by mental health experts chosen by the prison.
The Mississippi court denied Simon's request to be evaluated by his mental health expert. Instead, Simon relied on an affidavit from a mental health expert who had reviewed Simon's medical records. That expert reported the medical records indicated Simon may have suffered some neuropsychological damage from the fall. The expert said a complete mental evaluation would determine how much damage Simon suffered.
The attorney general's office responded with affidavits from the two prison-selected experts.
The Mississippi court ruled Simon's medical records showed no sign of impairment. A federal judge sided with the state in May 2011 decision. Simon appealed to the 5th Circuit.
The three-judge panel, in its ruling released Thursday, said it was difficult to view the process as fair when Simon was not allowed a mental evaluation from someone other than a prison expert.
The three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a Mississippi federal judge to take another look at Simon's case.
Simon was sentenced to death for the killings of three members of a Quitman County family. He got a life sentence in the death of a fourth family member. A 5th Circuit panel stopped Simon's execution last May because of questions about the procedure and directed attorneys to file briefs on the mental evaluation issue.
The Mississippi Supreme Court temporarily delayed Simon's execution last April to give prosecutors and the defense time to review Simon's medical records. That ruling came amid a claim by Simon's attorney that the inmate had suffered a fall and could not understand his case and had trouble carrying on conversations.
Court records show Simon was found unconscious in his cell on Jan. 7, 2001. He spent several days in the hospital at the Parchman state prison. He was examined by mental health experts chosen by the prison.
The Mississippi court denied Simon's request to be evaluated by his mental health expert. Instead, Simon relied on an affidavit from a mental health expert who had reviewed Simon's medical records. That expert reported the medical records indicated Simon may have suffered some neuropsychological damage from the fall. The expert said a complete mental evaluation would determine how much damage Simon suffered.
The attorney general's office responded with affidavits from the two prison-selected experts.
The Mississippi court ruled Simon's medical records showed no sign of impairment. A federal judge sided with the state in May 2011 decision. Simon appealed to the 5th Circuit.
The three-judge panel, in its ruling released Thursday, said it was difficult to view the process as fair when Simon was not allowed a mental evaluation from someone other than a prison expert.
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