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North Carolina
Oct 8, 2:00 AM
Sammy Perkins has been executed. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the family and loved ones of Mr. Perkins as well as Lashenna Moore.
The state of North Carolina is scheduled to execute Sammy Perkins, a black man, Oct 8 for the 1992 rape and murder of seven year-old Lashenna Moore in Pitt County. Perkins, who suffers from bipolar disorder, was using alcohol, heroin, and crack cocaine at the time, and has a long history of substance abuse and mental illness.
Perkins was first scheduled to be executed on May 21. The execution was halted when District Court Judge Terrence Boyle issued a stay pending the Supreme Court ruling on a case challenging the constitutionality of lethal injection.
Pekins has a family history of mental illness. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1997, and a prison psychiatrist noted symptoms of long-term use of anti-psychotic medication. However, for most of Perkins’ life, his economic status prevented him from obtaining psychiatric help. In 1975 Perkins was arrested for “walking around without his clothes on,” according to his mother. Left untreated, bi-polar disorder is a debilitating mental illness, with extreme mood swings, depression, and manic highs. As he self-medicated his moods and depression with cocaine, heroine, and alcohol, the condition worsened.
Supporters of Perkins maintain that this crucially potential mitigating evidence of profound mental illness was not presented at trial. Perkins’ early bizarre behavior was not investigated by either of his two trial lawyers and there was no expert to explain to the jury how it affected Perkins’ ability to make decisions or how it affected his reaction to alcohol and cocaine.
Had recent guidelines for appointing attorneys in capital cases applied in Perkins’ case, he would have been assigned a lawyer with enough experience to spot this important issue. At the time of Perkins’ trial and review, judges had the discretion to limit or refuse completely to fund expert witnesses. Perkins’ request for experts was not given appropriate attention. Supporters of Perkins also maintain the outcome of the sentencing hearing would be drastically different if the case was tried today under recently imposed guidelines for North Carolina, which restrict trial judges ability to limit expert witnesses.
Forensic psychiatrist Billy Royal testified that Perkins’ mental illness in combination with his consumption of both prescribed and illicit drugs and alcohol impaired his ability to distinguish right from wrong, make plans, or premeditate his actions.
The execution of those with mental illness has become an international human rights issue. Human Rights Watch reports that there are 10 times as many men and women in prison as in mental hospitals. Reports estimate that 10 percent of death row inmates are mentally ill, though some maintain that the number is much higher. When mental illness manifests itself violently, the general population should be protected. However, the answer is not to further victimize those who suffer with the “ultimate punishment” of death.
There are also serious allegations of jury misconduct. Court official Tammy Beachum reported that she was informed that the jury had decided on Perkins’s guilt before the trial was completed; and furthermore had determined that death was appropriate. Premature jury deliberation undermines a defendant’s right to due process and is grounds for a mistrial. The court ruled that Perkins’ case was unaffected by this misconduct.
Perkins is a mentally ill man who did not receive a fair trial, and is arguably ineligible for a capital murder conviction. While this is a horrifying crime, the infliction of more violence is not the answer. North Carolina has the option of life without parole, which is the only humane alternative in this case. To perpetuate the cycle of violence, to create more victims, and uphold murder as an option for justice will never bring healing.
Please contact Gov. Easley and urge him to stop the execution of Sammy Perkins letting him know that you do not support the execution of the mentally ill!
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