HARTFORD, Conn., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- An attorney for a killer who has tried to speed his own execution filed a motion Monday in Connecticut for a hearing on his client's mental competence.
Michael Ross' attorney, T. R. Paulding, said new evidence raises questions about his client's competency. Ross has asked to forgo further appeals and has "volunteered" to be executed, CNN reported Monday.
"New and significant evidence has come to light that I simply cannot ignore," Paulding said in court documents filed in Hartford, Conn.
Ross was to have been executed Monday.
Gerard Smyth, the state's chief public defender, said state officials "are duty bound" to honor the request. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said the law "clearly and absolutely requires that such a request be met."
Ross, a 45-year-old Cornell University graduate, confessed to eight murders in eastern Connecticut and New York that occurred during the early 1980s.
Paulding said he needs to explore a phenomenon known as "death row syndrome" -- that harsh conditions on death row might have coerced Ross to drop his appeals.
