Legislator seeks to curb death penalty By Kevin Corcoran � Indianapolis Star

State Rep. William Crawford doesn't want murderers who are seriously mentally ill to be put to death. A longtime foe of the death penalty, Crawford is hoping to persuade his colleagues to outlaw executions of people whom juries find guilty but mentally ill. If he's successful, Indiana would become the first state to enact a ban. "I'm hoping we can just say, as a society, this shouldn't happen," Crawford said. Instead of death, these mentally ill murderers could receive life in prison without parole. Dee Weeks, the mother of a Columbus, Ind., man convicted of this charge, said she'll be among those at the Statehouse lobbying for passage. Her son is serving his 50-year sentence for murder at the Indiana State Prison. "Anyone who is mentally ill, I think, should not even be sent to prison. They should be getting treatment, not put to death," said Weeks, whose son, Joseph, was convicted of fatally shooting a man in May 1995 in a restaurant bathroom. Crawford thinks the timing may be right when the legislature reconvenes today.