Killer understands death sentence, judge told [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Killer understands death sentence, judge told
Associated Press
Friday June 15, 2012 3:42 AM

Two psychiatrists testifying for the state said yesterday that a condemned Ohio inmate is mentally ill but understands that he faces execution because of his double murder conviction.

“It is our opinion with reasonable medical certainty that Mr. Abdul Awkal currently has the mental capacity to understand the nature of the death penalty and the mental capacity to understand why the death penalty was imposed on him,” the psychiatrists said in a report to a judge that was detailed in their court testimony.

Drs. Jennifer Piel and Phillip Resnick examined Awkal two days after he had been scheduled to be put to death last week for killing his estranged wife and brother-in-law in a Cleveland courthouse in 1992. Gov. John Kasich issued a last-minute reprieve to allow a judge to consider whether the 53-year-old is mentally competent for execution.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Stuart Friedman has heard conflicting testimony on the issue this week. The defense argues that Awkal is too psychotic to be executed and says he thinks the CIA is plotting against him. The state says the execution should proceed.


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