Executions : Executions
KRS 418.218 : KRS 418.218 “When a judgment sentencing the defendant to death has been affirmed, the mandate shall fix the day of the execution as the fifth Friday following the date of the mandate of the court. . . . If from any cause the execution does not take place on the day appointed in the mandate, the governor may from time to time appoint another day for execution until the sentence is carried into effect.”
“Death Warrants” : “Death Warrants” Governor’s Order directing execution be carried out at specific time.
Must be read to inmate
If sentenced before 3/31/98, inmate shall designate method of execution when warrant read to him.
14-30 Days Remaining : 14-30 Days Remaining 14-30 days remaining: Inmate moved to special cell house
Clothing and other personal effects limited to: one mattress; two sheets; one pillow; one pillow case; one pair of scrub-type pants; one scrub-type shirt; one pair of underwear; one pair of socks; one toothbrush; one tube of toothpaste; one bar of soap; one bath towel; one wash cloth; and anything authorized by the warden
10 days remaining : 10 days remaining Inmate designates
witnesses
“minister of record”
person to take charge of effects after death and make funeral arrangements
Lethal Injection Process : Lethal Injection Process 24 hours prior to execution: “IV Team” examines inmates to determine sites for IV
At appointed hour, inmate is strapped to gurney, and “IV Team” attempts to insert two IV’s.
Process may last up to an hour, then is aborted
Once IV Inserted, curtain opened and inmate is permitted to make statement up to two minutes long.
Lethal chemicals injected through IV until it appears inmate is dead
Curtain then closed and inmate examined
Electrocution Process : Electrocution Process On day of execution, condemned person’s head and one leg shall be shaved.
At appointed hour, inmate is taken into the chamber, and and permitted to make a statement not to exceed two minutes long.
The curtain is then closed, and the inmate is strapped to the electric chair, and electrodes are attached at the head and leg. The curtain is then re-opened.
2400 volts of current is inflicted for 15 seconds, followed by 240 volts for 1 minute 45 seconds.
Process is repeated until death is apparent, at which point the curtain is closed and the inmate examined
Personal Visitors : Personal Visitors From Warrant to day before execution:
No more than one visitor at a time (unless authorized by warden)
Visits must be scheduled in advance
Visitors may come on any day (no Thursday/Saturday restriction)
Personal visitors may not bring anything to the visitation.
Day of execution: No personal visitors
Legal Visitors : Legal Visitors From Warrant to day before execution
May visit any day
May bring a pen, pad (without metal) and legal documents
Includes staff employed by the attorney’s office, not merely the attorney
On day of execution
May visit between 7:30 and 2:30.
May request additional visits up to 3 hours prior to execution.
Clergy Visitors : Clergy Visitors “Minister of record” generally has same right of access as counsel.
Minister visit must conclude 2 hours before execution.
May not bring anything to the penitentiary, but may get approval from warden to use oils or other sacramental items which have been brought to prison in advance.
Volunteers : Volunteers Regs state: “‘Volunteer’ means a death sentenced inmate who requests to be executed before he has completed the available legal challenges to his conviction or sentence.”
If volunteer changes his mind at any point in the execution process, procedures must stop and inmate may contact counsel.
Volunteers : Volunteers A competent person may plead guilty, direct his attorney to present no mitigation, and ask for the death penalty. Chapman v. Commonwealth, 265 S.W.3d 156 (Ky. 2007).
A competent inmate may fire their attorney in order to plead guilty and prevent the presentation of mitigation evidence at sentencing. Godinez v. Moran, 509 U.S. 389, 399 (1993)
Volunteers (cont.) : Volunteers (cont.) A competent person may waive challenges to a conviction and sentence. Rees v. Peyton, 384 U.S. 312 (1966).
Standard for competency is: “whether he has capacity to appreciate his position and make a rational choice with respect to continuing or abandoning further litigation or on the other hand whether he is suffering from a mental disease, disorder, or defect which may substantially affect his capacity in the premises.” Rees at 313
Volunteers (cont.) : Volunteers (cont.) There is no set process for determining competency to drop future appeals.
In Chapman v. DPA, Chapman sued DPA to prohibit his attorneys from filing further pleadings on his behalf. By agreement of the parties, he was evaluated once again, and that evaluation was treated as conclusive.
Chapman v. DPA process rejected in Hunt v. DPA and Windsor v. Niehaus