John Errol Ferguson became notorious in the 1970s when he was convicted of killing a host of people in a mass killing rampage. He was charged with the murder of many and was given a death sentence as a result. He was under a stay recently, but is now set to die at 6 p.m. on October 23rd, 2012 after the stay was suddenly lifted. The massacre man has been on death row for 34 years. According to Boston.com, Mr. Ferguson was put on a last minute stay when his attorney was able temporarily prove that he was mentally incompetent and that he shouldn’t be executed because of his mental illness.
Still, the Florida State Prison has decided that they will execute Ferguson after the court lifted the stay and denied the request for a last-minute reprieve. Ferguson is 64-years-old, and expects to meet his heat at 6 p.m. tonight. Like many convicted criminals on death row, Ferguson’s lawyer decided to invoke the Constitutional provision which says that it is not fair and right to execute a person who is not mentally competent. While the court tries to abide by this statute; they have narrow qualifications as to what is considered mentally incompetent.
They were not able to medically diagnose Ferguson with a mental illness or incompetency, so he was declared fit for execution. His attorneys sought reinstatement of the stay in an emergency filing on Tuesday morning, but there was no immediate ruling from the justice, and the ruling is tentatively back on. It has been proven that Ferguson suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, but justices have determined that this is not enough to dismiss him from being legally competent for execution.
The state justices say that they have been able to confirm that Ferguson knows what is taking place today and why it is taking place. Still, his lawyers are holding their ground in insisting that the man does not have a “rational understanding” of what happened and why he should be punished. Ferguson suffers from delusions that he is the Prince of God and that God is preparing for him to return to Earth after his execution and save the United States from a communist plot.
Despite impending death, Ferguson’s attorney will stop at nothing to work towards eliminating his death sentence, even up until the day of his punishment. You want a lawyer who is that dedicated to working towards your innocent or reducing your sentence in a case. At Parks & Braxton, P.A. we are dedicated to working hard for you. Contact a lawyer at our firm today to get relentless representation. We will fight for you up until the day of your sentencing and seek to give you the reprieve from harsh punishment that we believe that you deserve!