The prison population in the United States is rapidly aging, with 10% of inmates in 2014 being over the age of 65. Older inmates experience many risk factors of dementia, particularly death row inmates who lack cognitive stimulation and exercise (one hour per day outside of cell). The average time between sentencing and execution is approximately 16.5 years. Under current U.S. law, older death row inmates who experience diminished competence following sentencing may still be executed. This is incongruent with: 1) Ford v. Wainwright which offers protection to those who cannot understand why and how they are to be punished, 2) Atkins v. Virginia which prohibits the execution of individuals with intellectual disabilities, and, potentially 3) the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment.” Several states, including Georgia, Missouri, and Oklahoma, have in the past ten years proceeded with the execution of older death row inmates who exhibit diminished capacity to understand the antecedents and process of their execution. Specifically, Brandon Astor Jones, who was first sentenced to death in 1979, was executed by the state of Georgia in 2016 despite evidence of dementia. Currently, the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is considering the case of Vernon Madison, a 65-year-old Alabama inmate with dementia who has appealed his sentence of death based on cognitive incapacity. Cases such as these will become increasingly common due to the aging of the prison population; thus, the issue of post-sentencing competence should be considered by the United States legal system.
展开▼
