Scott Louis Panetti v. Nathaniel Quarterman, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division

Subject:

Capital Punishment, Death Penalty, Habeas Corpus, Eighth Amendment, Mental Illness

1. Does the Eighth Amendment permit the execution of a death row inmate who has a factual awareness of the reason for his execution but who, because of severe mental illness, has a delusional belief as to why the state is executing him, and thus does not appreciate that his execution is intended to seek retribution for his capital crime?
   
   
2. Must petitioner's habeas application be dismissed as "second or successive" pursuant to 28 U.S.C. section 2244?

• United States Supreme Court Decided: June 28, 2007
• U.S. Court of Appeals - 5th Circuit Opinion Filed: May 9, 2006
• United States Supreme Court, Cert. Granted: January 5, 2007

Resources:

• Docket Sheet From the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Northwestern University - Medill School of Journalism: On the Docket