A man with a severe mental illness who was forcibly medicated with anti-psychotic drugs, which made him lucid enough under court guidelines to be put to death was executed by the US state of Arkansas last night.
Charles Singleton (44), a diagnosed schizophrenic, was given a lethal injection in the state's death chamber in Varner, about 70 miles from Little Rock for stabbing grocery store clerk Mary Lou York to death in the neck in 1979.
Another prisoner Karl Roberts (35), was scheduled to be put to death after Singleton for raping and killing his 12-year-old niece. Lawyers for Roberts filed a last-minute appeal requesting a temporary stay of execution, which was granted by a federal court.
Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said he would not issue a stay for Singleton, who had run out of appeals. Several groups such as the European Union and Amnesty International petitioned the governor to commute the death sentence, saying it was morally reprehensible to execute a person with a severe mental illness.