Post by CCADP on Aug 28, 2005 7:33:04 GMT -5
State-hired expert: Condemned man psychotic
Parole Board voted against clemency after psychologist's report called killer delusional.
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Monday could be a pivotal day in the effort to halt Arthur P. Baird II's execution, scheduled for early Wednesday.
• The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to temporarily halt the execution so it can hear oral arguments this fall about whether it's constitutional to execute mentally ill killers.
• Gov. Mitch Daniels has been asked to halt Baird's execution before the inmate eats his last meal Monday.
By Kevin Corcoran
kevin.corcoran@indystar.com2752
A psychologist hired by the Indiana Parole Board to examine Death Row inmate Arthur P. Baird II this month told the panel Baird appears to be psychotic -- unable to distinguish real events from imagined ones, according to a confidential report obtained Saturday by The Indianapolis Star.
Baird's lawyers have argued he is mentally ill and, as a result, should not be put to death, a claim they are pursuing in an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court and a plea for clemency before Gov. Mitch Daniels.
After a 3-1 vote last week in which the Parole Board recommended against clemency, the Indiana Supreme Court voted 3-2 to let the execution proceed.
Barring a U.S. Supreme Court ruling to block his execution or a decision by Daniels to step in, Baird, 59, would become the fifth person executed in Indiana this year, the most in one year since the death penalty was reinstituted in 1977.
In a four-page evaluation, psychologist James H. Lowery told the Parole Board that Baird can distinguish right from wrong. But Lowery found Baird does not believe he is responsible for killing his wife and parents in 1985. Baird has said repeatedly his actions were controlled by someone else, and mental health experts don't believe he's making that up.
"It's a delusion that doesn't go away," Lowery said by phone Saturday.
Lowery's report made no recommendation on whether Baird is fit to be executed Wednesday.
Under state law, the execution of people who are mentally retarded is prohibited. But it says nothing about whether the lives of severely mentally ill killers should be spared. Also, the U.S. Supreme Court has not directly addressed the question of whether killing the mentally ill constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
To the casual observer, Baird, a Vietnam War veteran, could come across as normal, Lowery said in his report. But from the time he was 11, Baird believed he had "good" and "evil" personalities that were in constant turmoil.
The psychologist was told by Baird, formerly of Montgomery County, that he felt he had conquered his "bad thoughts" by 1983. The next year, however, Baird lost his job, and his mental health deteriorated. Baird started to believe his plan to eliminate the federal debt would be rewarded by God with a large amount of cash.
When the reward didn't come, he began feeling as if he could not control his actions, Baird said. That's when the killings occurred.
Baird is to be executed in the State Prison at Michigan City for the Sept. 6, 1985, stabbing deaths of his parents, Kathryn and Arthur Baird. He also was sentenced to 60 years in prison for strangling his pregnant wife, Nadine, and eight more years for killing his unborn child the day before his parents' slayings.
Lowery told the Parole Board that Baird harbors long-standing delusions about how and why he committed the murders. Baird, who had never before been in legal trouble, has maintained that a "big, burly man" controlled his actions during the slayings.
Lowery's diagnoses of Baird, including a finding that Baird harbors grandiose delusions, were not made public despite repeated requests to the Parole Board and prison officials by one of Baird's lawyers. As a result, the findings were not presented to the Indiana Supreme Court, which last week denied Baird's request for a hearing to determine whether he's legally sane.
Lowery said he believed the governor has received a copy of his evaluation. Daniels' chief counsel, Steve Schultz, did not return a phone message asking him whether Daniels would review Lowery's report along with other mental health evidence.
Raymond Rizzo, the Parole Board's chairman, said Saturday the decision on Baird's fate was Daniels' to make, terming such judgments "the greatest responsibility a human being can undertake."
But Rizzo made clear he believed Baird is faking mental illness and knew what he was doing when he committed the murders.
"The man strangled his wife, who was seven months pregnant, and killed his mother and his father and perfected a plan to get away," Rizzo said. "Why did he do it? I have no way of knowing. . . . Each time he tells the story of what happened on that day, it's embellished."
But mental health experts say Baird's story has been remarkably consistent. During psychological testing, they say, Baird tries hard to appear normal, even though he's not.
"If he were faking, he would try to appear mentally ill," said Dr. Philip M. Coons, a forensic psychiatrist and professor emeritus at the Indiana University School of Medicine who recently examined Baird at the request of his lawyers.
Coons produced a report on Baird, which was submitted to the Indiana Supreme Court and Parole Board last week. He found Baird to be "grossly psychotic and delusional" and mentally unfit to be executed. Baird does not comprehend the nature of the murders he committed well enough to face execution, Coons concluded.
Baird has not received medicine or treatment for his delusions, court records show.
After reviewing a copy of Lowery's similar findings, provided by The Star, Coons said Saturday he was surprised that all but one member of the Parole Board had ignored testimony from three experts, including one it hired, that Baird is seriously mentally ill. Coons testified before the board.
"I imagine the Parole Board sees a lot of con games," he said. "This isn't one of them."
Baird's lawyers hope Daniels will call off the execution before Baird eats his final meal Monday.
Unable to decide on a last meal because he fretted that prison officials wouldn't let him finish, Baird reluctantly put in an order for fried fish or shrimp and cheesecake, but only after one of his lawyers intervened. His lawyers also have had difficulty getting him to focus on the execution because he's worried about getting overcharged for his subscription to a Montgomery County newspaper, court records show.
"He still thinks God is going to turn back the time, and he won't be executed," said one of his lawyers, Sarah L. Nagy.
Call Star reporter Kevin Corcoran at (317) 444-2770.
Parole Board voted against clemency after psychologist's report called killer delusional.
Related news from the Web
Latest headlines by topic:
• Death Penalty
• Psychology
• US Supreme Court
• Science
• US News
Powered by Topix.net
What's next
Monday could be a pivotal day in the effort to halt Arthur P. Baird II's execution, scheduled for early Wednesday.
• The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to temporarily halt the execution so it can hear oral arguments this fall about whether it's constitutional to execute mentally ill killers.
• Gov. Mitch Daniels has been asked to halt Baird's execution before the inmate eats his last meal Monday.
By Kevin Corcoran
kevin.corcoran@indystar.com2752
A psychologist hired by the Indiana Parole Board to examine Death Row inmate Arthur P. Baird II this month told the panel Baird appears to be psychotic -- unable to distinguish real events from imagined ones, according to a confidential report obtained Saturday by The Indianapolis Star.
Baird's lawyers have argued he is mentally ill and, as a result, should not be put to death, a claim they are pursuing in an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court and a plea for clemency before Gov. Mitch Daniels.
After a 3-1 vote last week in which the Parole Board recommended against clemency, the Indiana Supreme Court voted 3-2 to let the execution proceed.
Barring a U.S. Supreme Court ruling to block his execution or a decision by Daniels to step in, Baird, 59, would become the fifth person executed in Indiana this year, the most in one year since the death penalty was reinstituted in 1977.
In a four-page evaluation, psychologist James H. Lowery told the Parole Board that Baird can distinguish right from wrong. But Lowery found Baird does not believe he is responsible for killing his wife and parents in 1985. Baird has said repeatedly his actions were controlled by someone else, and mental health experts don't believe he's making that up.
"It's a delusion that doesn't go away," Lowery said by phone Saturday.
Lowery's report made no recommendation on whether Baird is fit to be executed Wednesday.
Under state law, the execution of people who are mentally retarded is prohibited. But it says nothing about whether the lives of severely mentally ill killers should be spared. Also, the U.S. Supreme Court has not directly addressed the question of whether killing the mentally ill constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
To the casual observer, Baird, a Vietnam War veteran, could come across as normal, Lowery said in his report. But from the time he was 11, Baird believed he had "good" and "evil" personalities that were in constant turmoil.
The psychologist was told by Baird, formerly of Montgomery County, that he felt he had conquered his "bad thoughts" by 1983. The next year, however, Baird lost his job, and his mental health deteriorated. Baird started to believe his plan to eliminate the federal debt would be rewarded by God with a large amount of cash.
When the reward didn't come, he began feeling as if he could not control his actions, Baird said. That's when the killings occurred.
Baird is to be executed in the State Prison at Michigan City for the Sept. 6, 1985, stabbing deaths of his parents, Kathryn and Arthur Baird. He also was sentenced to 60 years in prison for strangling his pregnant wife, Nadine, and eight more years for killing his unborn child the day before his parents' slayings.
Lowery told the Parole Board that Baird harbors long-standing delusions about how and why he committed the murders. Baird, who had never before been in legal trouble, has maintained that a "big, burly man" controlled his actions during the slayings.
Lowery's diagnoses of Baird, including a finding that Baird harbors grandiose delusions, were not made public despite repeated requests to the Parole Board and prison officials by one of Baird's lawyers. As a result, the findings were not presented to the Indiana Supreme Court, which last week denied Baird's request for a hearing to determine whether he's legally sane.
Lowery said he believed the governor has received a copy of his evaluation. Daniels' chief counsel, Steve Schultz, did not return a phone message asking him whether Daniels would review Lowery's report along with other mental health evidence.
Raymond Rizzo, the Parole Board's chairman, said Saturday the decision on Baird's fate was Daniels' to make, terming such judgments "the greatest responsibility a human being can undertake."
But Rizzo made clear he believed Baird is faking mental illness and knew what he was doing when he committed the murders.
"The man strangled his wife, who was seven months pregnant, and killed his mother and his father and perfected a plan to get away," Rizzo said. "Why did he do it? I have no way of knowing. . . . Each time he tells the story of what happened on that day, it's embellished."
But mental health experts say Baird's story has been remarkably consistent. During psychological testing, they say, Baird tries hard to appear normal, even though he's not.
"If he were faking, he would try to appear mentally ill," said Dr. Philip M. Coons, a forensic psychiatrist and professor emeritus at the Indiana University School of Medicine who recently examined Baird at the request of his lawyers.
Coons produced a report on Baird, which was submitted to the Indiana Supreme Court and Parole Board last week. He found Baird to be "grossly psychotic and delusional" and mentally unfit to be executed. Baird does not comprehend the nature of the murders he committed well enough to face execution, Coons concluded.
Baird has not received medicine or treatment for his delusions, court records show.
After reviewing a copy of Lowery's similar findings, provided by The Star, Coons said Saturday he was surprised that all but one member of the Parole Board had ignored testimony from three experts, including one it hired, that Baird is seriously mentally ill. Coons testified before the board.
"I imagine the Parole Board sees a lot of con games," he said. "This isn't one of them."
Baird's lawyers hope Daniels will call off the execution before Baird eats his final meal Monday.
Unable to decide on a last meal because he fretted that prison officials wouldn't let him finish, Baird reluctantly put in an order for fried fish or shrimp and cheesecake, but only after one of his lawyers intervened. His lawyers also have had difficulty getting him to focus on the execution because he's worried about getting overcharged for his subscription to a Montgomery County newspaper, court records show.
"He still thinks God is going to turn back the time, and he won't be executed," said one of his lawyers, Sarah L. Nagy.
Call Star reporter Kevin Corcoran at (317) 444-2770.