Imminent Execution of another volunteer in Ohio

Before the trial, Darrell Ferguson wrote to the judge and
prosecutor. In a letter to the prosecutor, for example,
Ferguson admitted to the crimes and expressed his wish to
˜get this over with as soon as possible. ¦Darrell Wayne
Ferguson wishes to seek the death penalty˜ In a subsequent
letter to the judge, he wrote:I have no Remorse for what
I did˜, and asked ˜in my right state of mind would you
please Find it in good will to give me the Death penalty˜
[sic].

Darrell Ferguson pleaded guilty and waived his right to a
jury trial. He waived the presentation of any mitigating
evidence. Before he was sentenced, the defendant read out a
letter to the court stating his lack of remorse, and that if
he was freed back into society he would˜pick up where I
left off from and take the pleasure of causing destruction.
I am not afraid of death like some of you are˜. The three-
judge panel sentenced him to death.

Darrell Ferguson has a history of mental health problems. He
has been treated for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder and bipolar disorder. He has a history of suicide
attempts. For example, when he was 19 years old he attempted
suicide by eating rat poison and was placed in a psychiatric
unit. His brother committed suicide the following year.
Darrell Ferguson has a history of substance abuse, and has
been assessed as having an IQ of 77, indicating possible
borderline mental retardation.

The Ohio clemency board has recommended that Governor Bob
Taft not grant clemency to Darrell Ferguson.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
About one in 10 of the people executed since judicial
killing resumed in the USA in 1977 have been so-called
˜volunteers˜, prisoners who had dropped their appeals and
˜consented˜ to execution. Any number of factors may lead a
prisoner not to pursue appeals against his or her death
sentence, including mental disorder, physical illness,
remorse, bravado, religious belief, the severity of
conditions of confinement, including prolonged isolation and
lack of physical contact visits, the bleak alternative of
life imprisonment without the possibility of parole,
pessimism about appeal prospects, a quest for notoriety, or
simply a desire to gain a semblance of control over a
situation in which the prisoner is otherwise powerless.
Rational or irrational, a decision taken by someone who is
under threat of death at the hands of others cannot be
consensual. What is more, it cannot disguise the fact that
the state is involved in a premeditated killing“ part of a
culture of violence, not a solution to it. Whether or not
prisoners who˜ask˜ to be executed are deluding themselves
about the level of control they have gained over their fate
“ after all, they are merely assisting their government in
what it has set out to do anyway “ the state is guilty of a
far greater deception. It is peddling its own illusion of
control: that, by killing a selection of those it convicts
of murder, it can offer a constructive contribution to
efforts to defeat violent crime. In reality, the state is
taking to refined, calculated heights what it seeks to
condemn “ the deliberate taking of human life. While
˜volunteer˜ executions are sometimes referred to as a form
of state-assisted suicide,˜prisoner-assisted homicide
would be a more accurate label. For if a death row inmate
seeks to commit actual suicide, the state will make every
effort to prevent it.

To oppose capital punishment is not to excuse or minimize
the consequences of violent crime. If it were, then a
majority of countries are currently apologists for violent
crime, clearly a nonsensical suggestion (125 countries are
currently abolitionist in law or practice).  Instead, to end
the death penalty is to recognize that it is a destructive,
diversionary and divisive public policy that is not
consistent with widely held values. It not only runs the
risk of irrevocable error, it is also costly“ to the public
purse, as well as in social and psychological terms. It has
not been shown to have a special deterrent effect “ as a
case such as Darrell Fergusons graphically illustrates. It
tends to be applied discriminatorily on grounds of race and
class. It denies the possibility of reconciliation and
rehabilitation. It promotes simplistic responses to complex
human problems, rather than pursuing explanations that could
inform positive strategies. It diverts resources that could
be better used to work against violent crime and assist
those affected by it. It is an affront to human dignity. It
should be abolished.

There have been 1,036 executions in the USA since 1977, at
least 120 of which have been of ˜volunteers˜.  Scores of
those executed in the USA since 1977 had histories of
serious mental illness or had mental retardation or
borderline mental retardation (for example, see USA: The
execution of mentally ill offenders, January 2006,/AMR5100306.pdf).
Ohio has executed 22 prisoners since
resuming executions in 1999. Five of these executions have
been of people who gave up their appeals.
http://web.amnesty.org/library/pdf/AMR510032006ENGLISH/$File



RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly
as possible:
- expressing sympathy for those affected by the murders of
Thomas King, Mae Fugate, and Arlie Fugate and explaining
that you are not seeking to downplay the seriousness of
these crimes or the suffering caused; - opposing the execution of Darrell Ferguson, noting his history of mental health problems, and explaining your
opposition to the death penalty in general and citing world
abolitionist trends; - urging the Governor to stop this execution, and to support
a moratorium on executions in Ohio.

APPEALS TO:

Governor Bob Taft
30th Floor, 77 South High Street
Columbus, OH 43215-6117
Faxes: 1 614 466 9354
Email, via: http://governor.ohio.gov/contactinfopage.asp
Salutation:
Dear Governor


PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.

Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement
that promotes and defends human rights.

This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable).
Thank you for your help with this appeal.

Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
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Washington DC 20003
Email: "This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it!"
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 202.544.0200
Fax:     202.675.8566

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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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