Stay denied death row inmate said to be delusional

Associated Press

FREDERICKSBURG, Texas - A Texas judge has refused for a second time to delay the next month's scheduled execution of a convicted murderer whose attorneys say is severely delusional and ineligible for the death penalty.

State District Judge N. Keith Williams in Gillespie County refused Wednesday a renewed request by attorneys for convicted killer Scott Panetti that Panetti's Dec. 3 execution date be reset or withdrawn. Williams rejected a similar appeal last week.

The 56-year-old Hayward, Wisconsin, man faces lethal injection for the fatal shootings of his in-laws 22 years ago at their home in Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country.

Panetti's lawyers contend his long-diagnosed mental illness appears to have worsened since his last evaluation seven years ago and more time is needed to determine if he's competent now for execution.