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Condemned Texas Prisoner Ruled Too Mentally Ill to Execute
Loaded on April 1, 2024
by Matthew Clarke
published in Prison Legal News
April, 2024, page 18
Filed under:
Death Penalty/Death Row,
Death Penalty,
Death Row,
Failure to Treat (Mental Illness),
Mental Health Experts,
Post Ake v. Oklahoma,
Judgment - Modification of.
Location:
Texas.
by Matt Clarke.
Condemned Texas prisoner Scott Louis Panetti, 65, was taken off the state’s death row on September 27, 2023, when the federal court for the Western District of Texas found him too insane to kill—or as the Court said, because he “lacks a rational understanding of …
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More from this issue:
- NaphCare: More Proof That Privatized Healthcare Deals Death and Misery to the Incarcerated to Enhance Profits, by David Reutter
- Woman Denied Cardiac Care in Federal Prison in Texas—Despite Personal Assurance of BOP Medical Director
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- With Push to Empty North Carolina’s Death Row Comes Another to End Life Without Parole
- Drunken “Karen” Jail Guard in Michigan Invades Former Home, Demands to Speak to Prosecutor When Cops Arrive
- Months-Long Wisconsin Prison Lockdown Prompts Lawsuits
- Alaska Prisons Report Three Deaths in Three Days
- Florida County Makes Free Jail Phone Calls Available
- Colorado Prisoners Disciplined for Not Working Despite Ban on Prison Slavery
- From Prison Cook to Praised Pizza Chef
- Louisville Jail Records 15 Detainee Deaths, 16 Employees Fired
- 428 Georgia Prison Employees Criminally Charged in Five Years
- California Prisons Locked Down After Massive Riot Hospitalizes Prisoner, Eight Guards
- One Detainee Dying Every Week in L.A. County Jails
- Sentencing Project Finds “Important Inroads” Against Mass Incarceration, Racial Inequality Behind Bars
- HRDC Awarded Over $130,000 in Legal Costs and Fees for Defendant’s “Bad Faith” in Maine Records Lawsuit, by David Reutter
- Condemned Texas Prisoner Ruled Too Mentally Ill to Execute, by Matthew Clarke
- Oregon Prisoner’s Parole Deferral Based on “Dangerous Offender” Statute Reversed
- Maryland Compensates Exonerated Prisoner Over $340,000
- Seventh Circuit Again Rejects Challenge to Three-Book Limit at Cook County Jail by Now-Dead Detainee, by David Reutter
- $33 Million Awarded to Family of Oklahoma Jail Detainee Mocked By Nurse and Guards As He Died Begging for Help, by Douglas Ankney
- $9,000 Settlement in Wisconsin Prisoner’s Heat-Related Illness Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- Sixth Circuit Refuses Michigan Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim Despite Guard’s Conviction for Battery, by David Reutter
- Lights, Camera, Action! “Dead Man Walking” Comes to Sing Sing
- Parole and Probation Accused of Driving Prison Growth, by David Reutter
- Louisiana Supreme Court Springs Prisoner From Death Row
- $1.75 Million Settlement Reached in Washington Jail Suicide, by David Reutter
- Grand Jury Slams Sacramento County for Delaying Jail Improvements Mandated in Consent Decree, by Douglas Ankney
- California Adds Statewide Detention Monitors Overseeing Local Jails
- Kansas DOC Claims Discrimination Against Wiccans Was “Inadvertent”, by Douglas Ankney
- Massachusetts High Court Calls Denial of Prisoner’s Medical Parole without Risk Assessment Arbitrary and Capricious, by Douglas Ankney
- Third Circuit Revives Disabled New Jersey Prisoner’s Claim for Deprivation of Walking Cane, by Douglas Ankney
- Nine Employees Arrested at Troubled South Carolina Jail
- Two Kansas Prison Guards Fired, Six Disciplined for Mocking Injured Prisoner and Refusing Her Help
- Missouri Moms Jailed After Kids Miss Too Much School
- Exceptional Punishments, by Kate Weisburd
- N.J. Prison Guard Sacked Over Mock George Floyd Killing
- Third Circuit Unhappy with Federal Detainee’s Denied Marriage Request at Pennsylvania GEO Group Lockup
- Russian Opposition Leader Dies in Prison
- Oklahoma Jail Withholds Death Records, Fails to Report Five Since 2018, by Matthew Clarke
- $8.5 Million Settlement After Pretrial Detainee Suffocated by Guards and Medical Staff at Virginia Psychiatric Hospital, by David Reutter
- $11.6 Million Settlement Reached in HRDC Debit Release Card Case in Washington; California Victory Remanded
- Georgia Sheriff Resigns After Groping TV Judge’s Breast
- North Carolina Court of Appeals Reinstates Parolee’s Parental Rights, Says Parole Conditions Barred Him from Visiting Minor Daughter, by Matthew Clarke
- Finding Indiana Grievance Process “Unavailable,” Federal Judge Grants Summary Judgment to 22 Prisoners on Same Day
- Alabama Denies Parole to Former Sheriff Convicted of Corruption
- Massachusetts Prisoners Again Stage Hunger Strike Against Solitary Confinement
- Eleventh Circuit Calls Georgia Prisoner’s Dismissed Suit Outside PLRA “Strike Zone”
- $19.3 Million Awarded to Former Illinois Prisoner Repeatedly Sexually Assaulted by Prison Counselor
- Federal Prisoners Released Under First Step Act Show 37% Reduction in Recidivism, by Matthew Clarke
- Missouri Expands Prison Mail Ban to Include Books Sent by Family, Friends
- Washington DOC Outfits Guards with Narcan
- Arizona Supreme Court Reverses Summary Judgment for Corizon Health in State Prisoner’s Death from Untreated Diabetes, by Matthew Clarke
- Class-Action Lawsuit Challenges Use of Presumptive Drug Tests by Washington DOC
- Fifth Circuit Finds Louisiana Prisoner’s Solitary Confinement Not Sufficiently “Atypical” to Violate the Constitution, by David Reutter
- Connecticut DOC Held Liable for Failure to Treat Transgender Prisoner’s Gender Dysphoria, by Douglas Ankney
- Eighth Circuit Affirms Qualified Immunity for Missouri Prison Chief in Sexual Abuse Claims Against Former Guard, by David Reutter
- Ninth Circuit Says Federal Prisoner in California May Have Bivens Claim for Delays in Medical Care Allegedly to Cover Up Assault by BOP Guard
- $2,000 Paid to Former Arkansas Jail Detainees Given Horse Dewormer for COVID-19, by Douglas Ankney
- At BOP California “Rape Club” Prison: Historic Ruling, FBI Raid, Warden Removed
- News in Brief
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Federal Court Grants HRDC Preliminary Injunction Against Mail Censorship at New Mexico Jail, May 1, 2026
- Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, May 1, 2026
- Federal Court Places Medical Care in Arizona Prisons Under Receivership, May 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Liability but Reverses Damages in Lawsuit Over Illinois Warden and Investigator Using Prisoner as Bait to Catch Staff Member Raping Her, May 1, 2026
- Texas Moves to Restrict Cashless Bond and Reverse Federal Court-Ordered Misdemeanor Bail Reform, May 1, 2026
- In Texas, Harris County Commissioners Approve $1.2 Million for Fourth Study of Jail Since 2020 After Dozens of Abuse Allegations, April 1, 2026
- Texas Attorney General Clarifies Scope of Statute Requiring Outside Agency Investigation of Jail Deaths, April 1, 2026
- D.C. Judge Blocks Transfer of Biden-Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners to “Supermax,” Citing Lack of Meaningful Due Process, April 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026
- Groundbreaking Statistical Study of Pregnant Texas Jail Detainees Finds Over 400 Monthly, April 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Spike in Massachusetts Prisoner Suicides Blamed on Isolation, K-2 and Spotty Mental Healthcare, May 1, 2026. DOJ CRIPA Actions, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Confinement in Segregated Housing, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Idaho Moves Closer to Firing Squad Executions, May 1, 2026. Death Penalty, State Legislation, Method of Execution, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
- $9.8 Million in Settlements Reached with South Carolina County and Wellpath in Gruesome Jail Death, May 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Sanitation, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- $2.135 Million Partial Settlement Reached in Schizophrenic Detainee’s Death from “Gross Medical Neglect” at South Carolina Jail, May 1, 2026. Prison Health Services, Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, May 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Overcrowding, Sanitation, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Taser Use Doubled After Grand Jury Report on Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Death, May 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Stun Guns/Tasers, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Staff Training.
- Federal Court Places Medical Care in Arizona Prisons Under Receivership, May 1, 2026. Naphcare, Systemic Medical Neglect, Injunctions, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- $1.25 Million Paid for Special Needs Teen’s Fatal Beating in Houston Jail, May 1, 2026. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Monitor Says Massachusetts Prisons Will Not Meet Settlement Deadline for Mental Health Reforms, May 1, 2026. Private Prisons, DOC/BOP misconduct, Consent Decrees, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Trump Approves Firing Squads for Federal Executions, May 1, 2026. Death Penalty, Domestic Violence, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Method of Execution, Hate Crimes.

