Bill outlines competency to die----Severe mental illness...

Bill outlines competency to die----Severe mental illness will prevent execution Prisoners on Louisiana's death row who are so mentally incapacitated that they don't understand that they are going to die could be spared execution after being examined by medical experts, under legislation approved Tuesday by a House committee. Senate Bill 781 by Sen. Art Lentini, R-Kenner, stems from a 1986 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that states cannot execute a person "whose mental illness prevents him from comprehending the penalty or its implications." In consideration of an appeal by a death row inmate, the Louisiana Supreme Court in January said the Legislature needed to come up with a process to determine the mental competency of a prisoner who is sentenced to die by lethal injection. If the Legislature did not come up with a process, the court said it would be "forced to issue such guidelines." According to the proposal, legal representatives for a prisoner sentenced to death can file a petition with the district court laying out the facts of his or her mental incompetence. If a judge finds it has merit, a competency commission of 2 or 3 medical experts, including at least one licensed psychiatrist, would evaluate the prisoner and his or her history. The court would then hold a hearing to consider the evidence and make a determination about whether the inmate is competent enough to be executed.