Should A State Execute A Killer So Impaired He No Longer Recalls The Crime?
In 1985, Vernon Madison shot and killed a police officer who had been assigned to protect his girlfriend. His severe dementia presents a moral and constitutional dilemma for the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court grappled with a difficult death penalty question Tuesday. Does it violate the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment to execute a convicted murderer who has such severe dementia that he doesn't remember the crime he committed?
Vernon Madison committed a terrible crime. In 1985, after leaving his girlfriend's house, he returned, and shot and killed a police officer who sat outside in his car to provide protection for the woman.
Twice Madison was sentenced
