Thursday, January 11, 2007

Execution watch ... Indiana

Normal Timberlake is set to be executed January 19 in Indiana for killing a state trooper. His attorney wants the execution delayed until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a parallel case of Texas inmate Scott Panetti.

"Norman is paranoid schizophrenic. He is delusional. He is experiencing auditory hallucinations and he irrationally believes the government operates a machine that tortures him and is trying to kill him," [his attorney, Brent] Westerfeld said. "As is true with most people with that kind of mental illness, Norman believes he is completely sane and firmly believes this machine exists."

[Norman] Timberlake talked about the machine during his clemency hearing before the state Parole Board on Monday, saying the federal government should look into the use of the machine.Westerfeld said that during the appeals process Timberlake wanted his attorneys to prove the machine exists.

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