Posted: March 11, 2015
Cecil Clayton
is 74, suffers from dementia, has an IQ of 71, is missing a significant
part of his brain due to an accident, and is scheduled for execution on
March 17 in Missouri. His attorneys insist he should
be spared because he does not understand the punishment to be carried
out. Clayton sustained a brain injury in a sawmill accident in 1972,
requiring removal of about 20% of his frontal lobe, which is involved in
impulse control, problem solving, and social behavior. After the
accident, Clayton began experiencing violent impulses, schizophrenia,
and extreme paranoia, which became so severe that he checked himself
into a mental hospital out of fear he could not control his temper. In
1983, Dr. Douglas Stevens, a psychiatrist, examined Clayton and
concluded, “There is presently no way that this man could be expected to
function in the world of work. Were he pushed to do so he would become a
danger both to himself and to others. He has had both suicidal and
homicidal impulses, so far controlled, though under pressure they would
be expected to exacerbate.” In the past decade, six psychiatric
evaluations have found that Clayton should be exempt from execution
because he does not understand that he will be executed, or the reasons
for his execution. However, since his execution date has been set, he
has not had a competency hearing before a judge that could spare him
from execution.
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