The death penalty is a very controversial subject on its own, with a wide range of arguments for and against, ranging from cost-effectiveness to ethical considerations.
That argument continues to become more complex when you begin discussing the mentally ill and whether or not they should be exempt from capital punishment.
Headlines on this facet of the death penalty discussion have recently begun covering the story of Andre Thomas, a man who, according to huffingtonpost.com, murdered his wife and two children in 2004…for fear they were possessed by demons.
Thomas was convicted and sentenced to death in 2005, but the case has recently come back into light with the publishing of death penalty lawyer Mark Bookman’s essay in Mother Jones (a nonprofit news organization) last week.
The details of the Thomas murders are gruesome. In his article, Bookman summarizes the events that transpired: “Andre had cut out the children’s hearts and returned home with the organs in his pockets… he was careful to use three different knives so that the blood from each body would not cross-contaminate, thereby ensuring that the demons inside each of them would die. He then stabbed himself in the chest, but he did not die as he had hoped. In fact, he was well enough to leave a message on his wife’s parents’ phone explaining that he thought he was in hell, and he managed to confess to the police what he had done before they took him in for emergency surgery.”
Bookman goes on to further explain the bizarre behavior exhibited by Thomas while he was incarcerated. In July 2008, he procured a sharp object and attempted to slit his own throat, requiring eight stitches.
He managed to gauge out his eyes on two separate occasions. He first removed his right eye, and during a second attempt removed and ate his left eyeball in order to prevent the government from reading his mind.
After removing his only remaining eye, the trial proceedings skidded to a halt. Bookman writes that the prosecutors have not reported back to the court on their record-gathering.
Autoenucleation, or the act of removing one’s own eyes, is uncommon, to say the least. But when it occurs, it is typically a manifestation of severe psychiatric illness, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
It typically occurs hand-in-hand with paranoid delusions and extreme psychosis, which provides substantial evidence that Thomas is indeed extremely mentally ill.
Bookman reports that Thomas comes from a long line of schizophrenics, and has a family history of mental illness as well as alcoholism and abuse.
Both his grandmother and mother believed that God spoke directly to them, and it seems that Thomas believed that God spoke to him, as well.
In fact, Thomas claims that he murdered his family because God told him to kill “Jezebel, the Antichrist and a second evil spirit,” which he took to mean his wife and kids.
Hearing voices and having delusions are extremely common with schizophrenic patients, so it’s probable that Thomas has inherited his family’s mental illness.
There is more than sufficient evidence that Thomas is severely psychologically ill, and according to the precedent set by the Ford v. Wainwright Supreme Court case, states cannot inflict the death penalty on a prisoner who is insane and cannot comprehend what he is being executed for without violating the Eighth Amendment.
Yet, the state of Texas is continuing to pursue Thomas’ execution. According to Bookman, “No state authority figure has expressed hesitation about ending the life of a man who intentionally blinded himself, nor has there been any move by the district attorney to reconsider Thomas’s mental state at the time of the killings.”
How can government officials claim that Thomas is mentally stable even after the inmate gouged out both of his eyes, insisted that he could hear the voice of God and announced that the government still has the eyeball that he didn’t eat and he would like it back? Those in charge of evaluating Thomas’ condition continue to assert that “he is not presenting delusional or paranoid symptoms, and that his ‘insight/judgement’ is fair,” says Bookman, citing Thomas’ prison records.
I am outraged that anyone in their right minds would believe this man to be psychologically sound.
Bookman also mentions, “Joe Brown, the district attorney of Grayson County, said he was surprised to hear that Thomas had removed his second eye, but he did not call it a second impulsive act.
He simply announced that the state would gather together Thomas’ records and evaluate the situation.”
It seems to me what Thomas needs is severe psychiatric help, and Texas is standing between this man and his Eighth Amendment rights.
Maurie Levin, Thomas’ lead attorney, told huffingtonpost.com that she is “cautiously optimistic” that her client will escape lethal injection. “I have to have faith that any reasonable judge will see the travesty of pressing the execution of somebody as mentally ill as Thomas,” she says.
I hope she is right.
Samantha Bloom can be reached at samantha.bloom@spartans.ut.edu