Could a Prisoner be “Unhealthy” Enough to Execute?
There has been a debate on whether a prisoner is “healthy” enough to execute. Consistent with the Eighth Amendment, and this Court’s decisions in Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 399 (1986), and Panetti v. Quarterman, 551 U.S. 930 (2007), a state may execute a prisoner whose mental disability leaves him without memory of his commission of the capital offense. But, it does not allow a state to execute a prisoner who has lost his cognitive ability to rationally understand the circu