§ 15.5 Capacity to Be Executed

LibraryCriminal Law in Oregon (OSBar) (2022 Ed.)

§ 15.5 CAPACITY TO BE EXECUTED

"[T]he Eighth Amendment prohibits a State from carrying out a sentence of death upon a person who is insane." Ford v. Wainwright, 477 US 399, 410, 106 S Ct 2595, 91 L Ed 2d 335 (1986). The defendant has a right to be heard on the issue of sanity. Ford, 477 US at 409-11.

A person who does not remember the crime, because of a cognitive impairment, may be executed, but probably not one with dementia. The prisoner without a memory may still be able to understand the execution...

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