Posted on Nov 10, 2015
300 Veterans, Some With PTSD, Are on Death Row; Should These Veterans Get the Death Penalty?
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During Courtney Lockhart's capital murder trial, the jury heard testimony that he had returned from a bloody 16-month deployment to Ramadi, Iraq, a changed man.
His sweet nature was replaced by anger and paranoia, his ex-fiancee said. He hid in the closet at night, started living out of his car, drank too much and once put a gun to his own head.
The defense argued that Lockhart, who was dishonorably discharged, was suffering from untreated PTSD and wasn't in his right mind when he abducted, robbed and fatally shot college student Lauren Burk in 2008.
The Alabama jury rejected the prosecution's call for the death penalty and sentenced him to life. But in a rare move, a judge overrode the panel's decision and put him on death row.
The case of Lockhart — whose brigade had a dozen other men charged with murder or attempted murder after coming home from Iraq — is highlighted in a new report by the Death Penalty Information Center, a group that opposes capital punishment.
"At a time in which the death penalty is being imposed less and less, it is disturbing that so many veterans who were mentally and emotionally scarred while serving their country are now facing execution," said Robert Dunham, the center's executive director.
About 300 veterans are on death row nationwide, about 10 percent of all those condemned to die, the group estimates.
It's unclear how many have been diagnosed with PTSD or have symptoms, but Dunham says that in too many cases, a veteran's mental scars are not examined closely enough by defense lawyers, prosecutors, judges, juries and governors who can commute death sentences.
The first prisoner executed this year, Andrew Brannan, was a Vietnam vet on disability for PTSD and bipolar disorder when he fatally shot a deputy nine times during a speeding stop.
Dash-cam video showed Brannan dancing in the street and saying "shoot me" before he pulled a rifle from his car and fatally shot the 22-year-old cop. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to stop his lethal injection.
Kent Scheidigger, legal director of the pro-capital punishment Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, said that since PTSD does not normally cause sufferers to become violent, the condition "may not have anything whatever to do with the crime."
"If a crime is sufficiently heinous, a death sentence may be the just outcome," he said. "Mental issues may be weighed in the balance, but they would have to be very severe before they outweighed, say, torture or serial killing."
At Lockhart's trial, according to media accounts at the time, a prosecution expert testified that he was not mentally ill and knew what he was doing was wrong when he killed Burk. A defense expert said he had symptoms of PTSD but not a diagnosed case.
After the jury heard testimony from those close to Lockhart about the problems he experienced after his military service, the panel voted 12-0 to spare his life, but the judge overruled them, saying they didn't know about other robberies he had committed.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor later wrote that jurors were "influenced by mitigating circumstances relating to severe psychological problems Lockhart suffered as a result of his combat in Iraq.''
"Lockhart spent 16 months in Iraq; 64 of the soldiers in his brigade never made it home, including Lockhart's best friend," she wrote. "The soldiers who survived all exhibited signs of posttraumatic stress disorder and other psychological conditions. Twelve of them have been arrested for murder or attempted murder."
The Death Penalty Information Center said its report was meant as a "wake-up call" to spark conversation about imposing capital punishment on trauma survivors.
"The country owes its veterans a thorough examination of the use of the death penalty in their cases, even when their offenses are especially grievous," the report said.
His sweet nature was replaced by anger and paranoia, his ex-fiancee said. He hid in the closet at night, started living out of his car, drank too much and once put a gun to his own head.
The defense argued that Lockhart, who was dishonorably discharged, was suffering from untreated PTSD and wasn't in his right mind when he abducted, robbed and fatally shot college student Lauren Burk in 2008.
The Alabama jury rejected the prosecution's call for the death penalty and sentenced him to life. But in a rare move, a judge overrode the panel's decision and put him on death row.
The case of Lockhart — whose brigade had a dozen other men charged with murder or attempted murder after coming home from Iraq — is highlighted in a new report by the Death Penalty Information Center, a group that opposes capital punishment.
"At a time in which the death penalty is being imposed less and less, it is disturbing that so many veterans who were mentally and emotionally scarred while serving their country are now facing execution," said Robert Dunham, the center's executive director.
About 300 veterans are on death row nationwide, about 10 percent of all those condemned to die, the group estimates.
It's unclear how many have been diagnosed with PTSD or have symptoms, but Dunham says that in too many cases, a veteran's mental scars are not examined closely enough by defense lawyers, prosecutors, judges, juries and governors who can commute death sentences.
The first prisoner executed this year, Andrew Brannan, was a Vietnam vet on disability for PTSD and bipolar disorder when he fatally shot a deputy nine times during a speeding stop.
Dash-cam video showed Brannan dancing in the street and saying "shoot me" before he pulled a rifle from his car and fatally shot the 22-year-old cop. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to stop his lethal injection.
Kent Scheidigger, legal director of the pro-capital punishment Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, said that since PTSD does not normally cause sufferers to become violent, the condition "may not have anything whatever to do with the crime."
"If a crime is sufficiently heinous, a death sentence may be the just outcome," he said. "Mental issues may be weighed in the balance, but they would have to be very severe before they outweighed, say, torture or serial killing."
At Lockhart's trial, according to media accounts at the time, a prosecution expert testified that he was not mentally ill and knew what he was doing was wrong when he killed Burk. A defense expert said he had symptoms of PTSD but not a diagnosed case.
After the jury heard testimony from those close to Lockhart about the problems he experienced after his military service, the panel voted 12-0 to spare his life, but the judge overruled them, saying they didn't know about other robberies he had committed.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor later wrote that jurors were "influenced by mitigating circumstances relating to severe psychological problems Lockhart suffered as a result of his combat in Iraq.''
"Lockhart spent 16 months in Iraq; 64 of the soldiers in his brigade never made it home, including Lockhart's best friend," she wrote. "The soldiers who survived all exhibited signs of posttraumatic stress disorder and other psychological conditions. Twelve of them have been arrested for murder or attempted murder."
The Death Penalty Information Center said its report was meant as a "wake-up call" to spark conversation about imposing capital punishment on trauma survivors.
"The country owes its veterans a thorough examination of the use of the death penalty in their cases, even when their offenses are especially grievous," the report said.
Death Penalty
Justice
PTSD
Posted 10 y ago
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I'm probably too narrow minded, brother. But my PTSD (and i have a decent sized dose if it) doesn't give me the right to go berserk. A crime is a crime. Murder is murder. Death penalty is very seldom handed out in Tennessee and much less ever carried out. On the other hand, I waited over a year before I was even evaluated by the VA for PTSD, let alone any treatment. Maybe that's another discussion for another day. I'll share something from my law enforcement experience (patrol, SWAT and detective for a while). Lets say a major crime occurs, lets say a homicide. A patrolman or 3 show up to the initial 911 call& at least one of these folks will have little experience. And lets say they DON'T contaminate the scene and then at least one detective and CSI show up and take the scene. They process it, remove evidence (and DON'T contaminate it?). They interview witnesses, if there are any, and lets say they determine a suspect. Lets even go so far to say that there is even a confession by the suspect. If the case is taken on by a good DA or assistant DA(and there are some that aren't good) and they feel good enough about it to TRY to get the Death penalty. Then you still have a trial by jury....12 folks with NO law enforcement experience usually and it only takes ONE who doesn't agree with death penalty or the evidence or doesn't like cops or the legal system or whatever gripe they have....just one dissension to have it thrown out. Activist judges can throw up roadblocks too, although that isn't a problem much from where I'm at. ANYWHO, when ya consider all that it's a small miracle that anyone gets serious prison time, let alone the Death penalty. All that said, my heart goes out to Vets who suffer from mental issues or struggle with anger and chemical dependency. I deal with it myself. And my family deals with it. But don't hurt anybody. Just my 2 cents worth. Hope not to offend. Blessings to all....HAPPY VETERANS DAY!!!!!!!!
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No slack in this thread MSgt Curtis Ellis! I understand every case is different and has to weighed on its own merits however, as a general rule of thumb, I believe if you committed the crime then it is too late to say "I had untreated PTSD".
My analogy is a heavy drinker decides to get in the vehicle and kills a family on the way home from the bar, it is too late for the drunkard to lay blame on an issue of undiagnosed alcoholism....you have a problem, you seek help for the problem before you commit a serious crime. It is unfortunate, but our Veteran brother and sisters that have committed these crimes must pay for them regardless of PTSD.
My analogy is a heavy drinker decides to get in the vehicle and kills a family on the way home from the bar, it is too late for the drunkard to lay blame on an issue of undiagnosed alcoholism....you have a problem, you seek help for the problem before you commit a serious crime. It is unfortunate, but our Veteran brother and sisters that have committed these crimes must pay for them regardless of PTSD.
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MSgt Curtis Ellis I would expect that PTSD is similar to other psychiatric defenses which may be valid in limited cases. Flip Wilson made light of this so long ago when he said "The Devil made me do it." This report says there are 300 veterans on death row. That is just under 10% of the total death row population of 3,108. https://death.rdsecure.org/article.php?id=86
I would be interested in how many veterans with PTSD who committed capital crimes are not on death row for comparison. Given the attention that PTSD has received I would expect that number has risen in the past 5 years.
We are each responsible for our actions. Those who deliberately murdered other human beings should expect to be executed or spend life in prison without parole in those states that don't execute prisoners.
I would be interested in how many veterans with PTSD who committed capital crimes are not on death row for comparison. Given the attention that PTSD has received I would expect that number has risen in the past 5 years.
We are each responsible for our actions. Those who deliberately murdered other human beings should expect to be executed or spend life in prison without parole in those states that don't execute prisoners.
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Oh boy, take a controversial issue (death penalty), stir in PTSD and what do you get?
My opinion on the death penalty has admittedly swung like a pendulum through the years. However, regardless of its current state - for or against - I have always argued that it be applied with great restraint. Mistakes in application simply can't be undone, can they?
In this case, it seems that untreated PTSD must be evaluated as an insanity defense. Was the perpetrator capable of distinguishing between right and wrong? It's easy to see how PTSD could bedevil a person into committing a heinous crime, but would it prevent them from discerning the "wrongness" of their action?
So many questions - So few concrete answers.
Of course, my heart goes out to all veterans who find themselves in such a predicament, but it also goes out to victims as well as other potential victims.
So here comes my opinion: Death? No. Incarceration? Yes, but incarceration with a view to redemption. Think about it: Imagine that some treatment would help this person overcome their PTSD and ultimately return to "sanity". Wouldn't awareness of their crime accompany the cure? Think how they might feel then. I think I might prefer insanity to discovering that I was a murderer. How about you? I would hope like hell that my cure would include some forgiveness; self-forgiveness as well as societal forgiveness.
My opinion on the death penalty has admittedly swung like a pendulum through the years. However, regardless of its current state - for or against - I have always argued that it be applied with great restraint. Mistakes in application simply can't be undone, can they?
In this case, it seems that untreated PTSD must be evaluated as an insanity defense. Was the perpetrator capable of distinguishing between right and wrong? It's easy to see how PTSD could bedevil a person into committing a heinous crime, but would it prevent them from discerning the "wrongness" of their action?
So many questions - So few concrete answers.
Of course, my heart goes out to all veterans who find themselves in such a predicament, but it also goes out to victims as well as other potential victims.
So here comes my opinion: Death? No. Incarceration? Yes, but incarceration with a view to redemption. Think about it: Imagine that some treatment would help this person overcome their PTSD and ultimately return to "sanity". Wouldn't awareness of their crime accompany the cure? Think how they might feel then. I think I might prefer insanity to discovering that I was a murderer. How about you? I would hope like hell that my cure would include some forgiveness; self-forgiveness as well as societal forgiveness.
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SSG Audwin Scott
If they have been diagnosed with PTSD and didn't receive proper treatment I say no they shouldn't be put to death.
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CPT Jack Durish
SSG Audwin Scott - Are you assuming that PTSD prevents a person from distinguishing between right and wrong or are you of the opinion that diagnosed PTSD elevates a person above the standard tests of the insanity defense?
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SSG Audwin Scott
CPT Jack Durish - No I am speaking as one with PTSD and Depression, I have had suicidal thoughts and strong acts of violence during my last few years in service and my first few years out of service, until I was told that this was what I was dealing with. It's a sickness that I am a living witness it has some crazy causes and effects to it.
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CPT Jack Durish
SSG Audwin Scott - I regret that I have little more than prayers and sympathy to offer and wish you a full recovery. However, that doesn't answer my question nor do I expect one. Why don't we let it go at that so you can focus on what's important in your life.
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I think the important thing to consider is that in order to be put on death row, you must not just commit a crime, even murder. It must posess aggravating factors - ones I think we can all agree make the crimes particularly heinous.
This would constitute a danger to society and a low likelihood of rehabilitation.
Locking them up for years with their demons in not a more humane solution, in my opinion.
This would constitute a danger to society and a low likelihood of rehabilitation.
Locking them up for years with their demons in not a more humane solution, in my opinion.
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MSgt Curtis Ellis
PTSD, nor any other mental health condition for that matter, is not an excuse. Somewhere in their mind they know what they are doing is wrong and they should ultimately be punished.
PTSD, nor any other mental health condition for that matter, is not an excuse. Somewhere in their mind they know what they are doing is wrong and they should ultimately be punished.
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Are we now going to make an argument that PTSD may be an insanity defense in a court of law? Be careful what you ask for. You may just get it. Do you want all Veterans with PTSD to be considered possibly criminally insane? What about civilians that have PTSD through some sort of significant events? Do they get a pass too? What about the PTSD sufferers who never even went to a war zone, do they get a pass too?
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Suspended Profile
I our era, the death penalty should be eliminated universally. It costs more to execute someone than to give them LWOP, and besides, if the conviction was flawed, you can't undo an execution...
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