Wesley Ira Purkey was scheduled for execution tonight (Wednesday, July 15, 2020) at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, where Daniel Lewis Lee was put to death on Tuesday (see previous post on circumstances surrounding Mr. Lee’s execution here). The U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., did not rule on whether Purkey is competent but said the Court needs to evaluate the claim. The Court noted that Purkey suffers from progressive dementia, schizophrenia and severe mental illness, but while the government may disagree with Purkey's lawyers about his competency, there's no question he’d suffer "irreparable harm" if he is put to death before his claims can be evaluated. The Court imposed two injunctions on Wednesday prohibiting the federal Bureau of Prisons from moving forward with Mr. Purkey's execution. The Justice Department immediately appealed.
Three mental health organizations urged Attorney General William Barr to stop 68-year-old Wesley Purkey's execution and commute his sentence to life in prison without possibility of parole. The National Alliance on Mental Illness, Mental Health America and the Treatment Advocacy Center said executing mentally ailing people like Purkey "constitutes cruel and unusual punishment and does not comport with 'evolving standards of decency.'"
While various legal issues in Purkey's case have been hashed, rehashed and settled by courts over nearly two decades, the issue of mental fitness for execution can only be addressed once a date is set.