EU asks Ohio to commute death sentence of mentally ill man
( 2001-06-13 09:40 ) (7 )

The European Union has asked the governor of the US state of Ohio to commute the sentence of a mentally ill man scheduled to be executed Thursday by lethal injection, the Swedish embassy said Tuesday.

The letter signed by members of the European Commission said the European Union "believes that executing a person suffering from a mental disorder would be in contradiction to standards set forth in several international human rights instruments."

Ohio's Supreme Court and lower federal courts have allowed the twice-delayed execution to proceed, saying the US Constitution does not bar the execution of mentally ill people who are capable of understanding their crimes and the punishment they face.

Scott's lawyers had argued that evolving standards of decency make it unconstitutional to execute someone with a severe mental illness, even though it has been allowed in the past.

Scott, 48, was judged fit to stand trial before being convicted and sentenced to death for the 1983 murder of the owner of a Cleveland, Ohio, delicatessen. He later was diagnosed with schizophrenia.