Fifteen years ago, Panetti shot his in-laws in front of his wife and daughter. He represented himself at trial, wearing a purple cowboy outfit and questioning his alter ego, Serge, on the witness stand. A jury convicted him and sentenced him to death.
I'm guessing they did not believe he was mentally ill or they had a problem with purple cowboy outfits (which I have a hard time believing any judge would let someone wear anyway let alone represent himself it he had mental issues).
However, all of those issues aside, High Court Blocks Mentally Ill Inmate's Execution
Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said the death penalty is meant to serve a retributive purpose, and that purpose is not served "if the prisoner's mental state is so distorted by a mental illness that his awareness of the crime and punishment has little or no relation to the understanding of those concepts shared by the community as a whole."
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