Forensic Assessment in Criminal and Civil Cases

10/7/03 N.Y. Times A16 2003 WLNR 5237432

New York Times (NY) Copyright (c) 2003 The New York Times. All rights reserved.

October 7, 2003

Section: A

Justices Let Stand Ruling That Allows Forcibly Drugging an Inmate Before Execution

NEIL A. LEWIS

Supreme Court opens falls term with ruling that lets stand federal appeals court decision allowing Arkansas to force convicted murderer Charles Laverne Singleton to take drugs that would make him sane enough to be ex- ecuted; Court lists dozens of cases that will not be reconsidered: upholds South Carolina's murder conviction of Regina McKnight, who used crack cocaine and delivered stillborn baby; Court lets stand ruling that Chicago ban on peddling outside sport arena violates freedom of speech; orders lower courts to reconsider large awards against Philip Morris in Oregon and Chrysler in Kentucky; also refuses to consider conviction of Ramsi Yousef as mastermind of 1993 World Trade Center bombing (M)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6

The Supreme Court on Monday let stand a ruling by a federal appeals court allowing Arkansas officials to force a convicted murderer to take drugs that would make him sane enough to be executed.

The justices opened their fall term by listing dozens of cases decided by lower courts that they reviewed during the summer recess and chose not to reconsider. In addition to the Arkansas case, they let stand a ruling by the South Carolina Supreme Court upholding a murder conviction for a woman who used crack cocaine and then de- livered a stillborn baby.

Though the justices did not rule directly on the cases, both represent the court's acceptance of significant exten- sions of state authority. In the Arkansas case, the appeals court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, based in St. Louis, had ruled 6 to 5 that the Constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment would not be violated if the authorities forcibly administered antipsychotic medication to the con- victed murderer, Charles Laverne Singleton.

The appeals court rejected arguments by Mr. Singleton's lawyers that the drugs were not medically useful since their only purpose would be to facilitate his execution.

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In two 1986 cases, the Supreme Court ruled that executing the insane was prohibited by the Eighth Amend- ment's edict against cruel and unusual punishment. In one of the cases, Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. set out the standard, saying that "the Eighth Amendment forbids the execution only of those who are unaware of the pun- ishment they are about to suffer and why they are to suffer it."

Until the Singleton case, no appellate court nor the Supreme Court had ruled on whether a prisoner could be for- cibly medicated to be made sane enough to qualify for an execution.

Mr. Singleton killed a grocery clerk in Arkansas in 1979 and was sentenced to death that year. His mental health began to deteriorate in 1987; he said he believed his prison cell was possessed by demons and that the authorit- ies had planted a device in his ear. He insisted that his victim, whom he had known at the time of the murder, was still alive.

The appellate judges were in sharp disagreement when they ruled in February. Writing for the majority, Judge Roger L. Wollman said the court had a choice "between involuntary medication followed by execution and no medication followed by psychosis and imprisonment."

In dissent, Judge Gerald W. Heaney said the authorities should have allowed Mr. Singleton to be medicated without the consequence of execution. "I believe that to execute a man who is severely deranged without treat- ment, and arguably incompetent when treated, is the pinnacle of what Justice Marshall called 'the barbarity of exacting mindless vengeance.' "

Scholars in medical ethics have said the issue of medicating patients to improve their mental health to execute them might present formidable obstacles for doctors. In practice, that could mean allowing nonmedical person- nel to administer such treatments. The case is Charles L. Singleton v. Norris (02-10605).

In the South Carolina case, the Supreme Court's decision to let stand the murder conviction of the mother after her baby was delivered stillborn was of special note in the state. Officials there have been especially determined to make pregnant women responsible for their behavior.

The South Carolina Supreme Court first upheld in 1997 the state's practice of regarding a fetus as a person in connection with the prosecution of pregnant women who used drugs.

The current case involved Regina McKnight, described in court documents as a woman of markedly low intelli- gence who until 1998 was helped with her everyday needs by her mother. Her lawyers said that after her mother was killed in a hit-and-run accident, Ms. McKnight "quickly spiraled downward, becoming homeless, addicted to cocaine and marijuana -- and pregnant."

After she delivered a stillborn female, nurses took blood samples from her and the baby and sent them to the au- thorities under a procedure put in place by the state. Both tested positive for cocaine.

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The state had previously prosecuted women for abuse if their delivered babies showed traces of cocaine, but Ms. McKnight's was the first drug-related case to be tried and convicted for murder under a "homicide by abuse" law.

The law under which she was convicted carries up to a 20-year prison term; she was sentenced to 12 years in jail. The case is Regina D. McKnight v. South Carolina (02-1741).

The court also let stand a ruling that a Chicago ban on peddling outside a sports arena violated free-speech rights.

Without any comment, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Chicago defending its law that prohibits ped- dling on public sidewalks in certain areas of the city. The law states that "no person shall peddle merchandise of any type on any portion of the public way within 1,000 feet of the United Center," an arena that features profes- sional basketball and hockey games as well as other major events. The case is City of Chicago v. Mark G. Wein- berg (02-1710).

The court also threw out large punitive damage awards against two major businesses, Philip Morris USA and Chrysler, asking lower courts to reconsider the amounts in light of a case the justices decided in April. In that case, the court provided the business community a significant victory when it threw out a $145 million damage award against the State Farm Insurance Company. Since the award for actual damages was only $1 million, a majority of justices said the 145-to-1 ratio for damages was excessive and suggested that juries considering pun- itive damage awards should not be permitted to consider a company's wealth.

The Philip Morris case concerned an Oregon janitor whose descendants sued the cigarette maker and won $79.5 million in punitive damages, 97 times the actual damages awarded. The case is Philip Morris USA v. Williams, et al. (02-1553).

The case involving Chrysler concerned a Kentucky widow who was awarded $3 million in punitive damages for a truck accident that killed her husband, about 13 times the actual damages awarded. The case is Chrysler Corp. v. Dorothy Clark (02-1748).

The court also refused to consider the conviction of Ramsi Yousef, identified as the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The case is Ramsi Yousef v. U.S. (03-5976).

---- INDEX REFERENCES ---

COMPANY: ALTRIA GROUP INC; STATE FARM LIFE INSURANCE CO; DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG (RUSSIA); PHILIP MORRIS USA; DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG; PHILIP MORRIS CR A S; CHRYSLER GROUP

NEWS SUBJECT: (Violent Crime (1VI27); Crime (1CR87); Legal (1LE33); Judicial (1JU36); Social Issues (1SO05); Criminal Law (1CR79); Economics & Trade (1EC26))

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REGION: (Kentucky (1KE38); South Carolina (1SO63); USA (1US73); Americas (1AM92); Illinois (1IL01); North America (1NO39); Arkansas (1AR83); Oregon (1OR01))

Language: EN

OTHER INDEXING: (Lewis, Neil A; Singleton, Charles Laverne; Mcknight, Regina; Yousef, Ramzi Ahmed) (ARKANSAS; CHRYSLER; CHRYSLER CORP; CONSTITUTION; EIGHTH AMENDMENT; EIGHTH CIR- CUIT; FORCIBLY DRUGGING; JUSTICE MARSHALL; PHILIP MORRIS; REGINA MCKNIGHT; STATE FARM INSURANCE CO; SUPREME COURT; UNITED CENTER; WILLIAMS) (Charles L. Singleton; Charles Laverne; Dorothy Clark; Gerald W. Heaney; Lewis F. Powell Jr.; Mark G. Weinberg; McKnight; Ramsi Yousef; Regina D. McKnight; Roger L. Wollman; Singleton) (Decisions and Verdicts; Suits and Litigation; Capital Punishment; Mental Health and Disorders; Murders and Attempted Murders; Drugs (Pharmaceuticals); Pregnancy and Obstetrics; Cocaine and Crack Cocaine; Drug Abuse and Traffic; Freedom of Speech and Ex- pression; Vendors, Street; Stadiums and Arenas; Athletics and Sports; Smoking and Tobacco; Roads and Traffic; World Trade Center (NYC); Terrorism; Bombs and Explosives) (Arkansas; South Carolina; Chicago (Ill); Oregon; Kentucky; New York City)

COMPANY TERMS: SUPREME COURT (US); SUPREME COURT (US); SUPREME COURT (US); PHILIP MORRIS USA; DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG

EDITION: Late Edition - Final

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