The court order grants the government’s request to lift a court order that had blocked Purkey’s execution, originally scheduled for Wednesday night. Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan disagreed in opinion 5-4.
United States District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued an injunction on Wednesday prohibiting the Federal Bureau of Prisons from moving forward with the planned execution of Purkey. Chutkan noted that Purkey suffers from progressive dementia, schizophrenia, and severe mental illness, but did not rule on whether Purkey is competent and ordered the court to further evaluate these claims. The Justice Department appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.
Purkey was sentenced to death in January 2004 after being sentenced in federal court for the kidnapping and interstate murder of Jennifer Long, 16, in 1998.
Purkey’s attorney, Rebecca Woodman, said he is “a 68-year-old man with severe brain damage and mental illness suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.”
“Although he has long accepted responsibility for his crime, he no longer has a rational understanding of why the government plans to execute him,” Woodman said Wednesday. “By suspending Wes’s execution, the court action points to the importance of allowing him to present the extensive medical evidence available that demonstrates his incompetence to be executed.”
Despite the Supreme Court order, Purkey’s lawyers continue to challenge his execution. Purkey’s attorneys argue that his execution order expired at midnight on July 15 and that any subsequent execution date should be based on a 20-day notice.
Purkey’s attorneys also filed two last-minute claims in Indiana federal court, renewing their argument that he is mentally incompetent, making any execution unconstitutional.
It is unclear whether these filings following the Supreme Court order will further delay Purkey’s execution.
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