The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, which, according to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Ford v. Wainwright (1986), includes the execution of the insane. Thus, it is unconstitutional to execute condemned inmates who become incompetent while on death row while they remain in an incompetent state. Statutes set
Competency for execution refers to a person’s ability to understand the reason, imminence, and finality of his or her execution. The evaluation of competency for execution is one of the most infrequently encountered, but arguably highest stakes, of forensic mental health evaluations. Because an evaluation of competency for execution is inextricably and proximally associated with
The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, which, according to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Ford v. Wainwright (1986), includes the execution of the insane. Thus, it is unconstitutional to execute condemned inmates who become incompetent while on death row while they remain in an incompetent state. Statutes set