HUNTSVILLE, Texas, May 19 (UPI) -- The state of Texas has put a diagnosed schizophrenic to death by lethal injection for two 1992 murders, USA Today reported Wednesday.
Kelsey Patterson, 50, died at the state's Huntsville execution facility at 6:20 p.m. local time Tuesday.
"State and federal courts have reviewed this case no fewer than 10 times," Republican Gov. Rick Perry said in a statement. "In each case the courts have determined there is no legal bar to his execution."
Patterson was condemned for the 1992 shooting deaths of a man and woman who worked for a Palestine oil company.
Court papers say after shooting the pair, Patterson removed all his clothing except his socks and walked away, shouting gibberish. During his trial, Patterson was excluded from the courtroom several times for shouting claims that remote-control devices and implants were governing his behavior.
A 1986 Supreme Court decision permits the execution of the mentally ill, provided they are able to understand why they are being put to death. A 2002 Supreme Court decision forbade the execution of the mentally retarded.
