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Supreme Court takes case of death row inmate who forgot the crime

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A month after halting his execution, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up the case of an Alabama convicted murderer whose attorneys argue should be spared the death penalty because strokes have wiped out his memory of committing the crime.

The justices agreed to decide whether executing 67-year-old Vernon Madison, convicted of fatally shooting a police officer in 1985, would violate the U.S. Constitution's Eighth Amendment bar against cruel and unusual punishment.

The Supreme Court has previously imposed some limits on capital punishment relating to people with intellectual disabilities and mental illnesses.

Madison, who has spent decades on death row, has suffered several strokes in recent years, resulting in dementia and memory impairment, court papers said. He is legally blind, cannot walk on his own and speaks with a slur.

Alabama had previously appealed to the Supreme Court a federal appeals court ruling last year that Madison could not be put to death because his memory loss had left him unable to understand the connection between his crime and the punishment he is due to receive.


Source :- yahoonews
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