Missouri should not kill Cecil Clayton

The scheduled execution next week of Cecil Clayton — a brain-damaged 74-year-old man — would fit the very definition of “cruel and unusual punishment” prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.

The state must allow a competency hearing to be held for Clayton before any further moves are made to snuff out his life. It’s critical to allow due process to work when the stakes are this high.

In the best possible move, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon should halt this state-sanctioned killing, forcing Clayton to live the rest of his life behind bars. That would be appropriate punishment for his heinous killing of Deputy Sheriff Christopher Castetter in 1996 in southwest Missouri.

Long before that incident, Clayton’s brain was badly damaged in a sawmill accident in 1972. Doctors removed a piece of wood from his head along with part of his brain’s frontal lobe. Clayton exhibited abnormal mental behavior after the incident, and in prison most evaluations have indicated he has severe mental problems. His IQ is far below normal levels.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states cannot legally execute incompetent individuals. Missouri law contains similar language. The reasoning is solid: It would be cruel to kill someone who does not comprehend the charges against them and cannot assist in their defense in court.

Unfortunately for Clayton, the most recent psychiatrist’s report requested by the Missouri Department of Corrections reportedly found “no reasonable cause” to find him incompetent.

However, that is at wide variance with other reports about his health.

Ultimately, Missouri should not be in the morally wrong business of taking a human life but most especially if that person is mentally incompetent.

This story was originally published March 9, 2015 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Missouri should not kill Cecil Clayton."