Esecuzione in Florida: ucciso psicolabile

Dopo ben tre rinvii, per valutare le sue condizioni mentali, alla fine � stata eseguita la condanna a morte di Linroy Bottosom: aveva ucciso una donna nel '79. Per i medici era schizofrenico. 

10 DICEMBRE 2002 

NEW YORK -  E' stata eseguita nella notte la condanna a morte di Linroy Bottoson, 63 anni, accusato di aver sequestrato e ucciso una donna di 74 anni nel lontano 1979.

 Da decenni ormai rinchiuso nel braccio della morte, aveva visto concretizzarsi la sua ultima occasione di evitare l'esecuzione venerd� scorso, quando il governatore della Florida Jebb Bush, fratello del presidente, gli aveva concesso una proroga di tre giorni per valutare le sue condizioni mentali.

 Il suo caso infatti, al momento della condanna, aveva scatenato roventi polemiche. Bottosom � ritenuto uno psicolabile, affetto da schizofrenia e mentalmente ritardato.

 Per questo la sua esecuzione era stata sospesa per ben tre volte da quando, ormai ben 23 anni fa, aveva sequestrato la direttrice di un ufficio postale per ucciderla, in seguito, con sedici coltellate.

 Una speciale commissione, alla fine, ha nuovamente esaminato Bottosom, ma le sue conclusioni non sono state rese note.

 L'esecuzione � stata alla fine portata a termine nella notte. Il suo corpo non � stato nemmeno richiesto dalla famiglia. Sar� seppellito all'interno della prigione. 

 NEW YORK, 10 DIC - La Florida ha eseguito la condanna a morte di Linroy Bottoson, 63 anni, accusato del sequestro e dell'uccisione nel 1979 di una donna di 74 anni.

   Bottoson avrebbe dovuto morire venerdi' scorso, ma il governatore della Florida, Jeb Bush, gli aveva concesso una proroga di tre giorni per valutare le sue condizioni mentali.

   Secondo i difensori del condannato, Bottoson era mentalmente ritardato e soffriva di schizofrenia. Ma un'equipe medica incaricata dal governatore di svolgere gli ultimi accertamenti e' stata di parere contrario.

   Il condannato e' morto per un'iniezione letale poco dopo le 17:00 locali (le 23:00 in Italia). Nel 1979, aveva sequestrato durante una rapina un'anziana postina, uccidendola poi a coltellate. E' la terza condanna eseguita in Florida dall' inizio dell'anno e la 54/ma da quando lo stato ha reintrodotto la pena capitale, nel 1976. 

Orlando Sentinel

 10-DIC-02

FLORIDA - Bottoson executed

Linroy Bottoson, an inmate who believed he was locked in a battle between Satan and Jesus Christ, was executed Monday for the kidnapping, robbery and slaying of the Eatonville postmistress 23 years ago.

Bottoson died at 5:12 p.m. for the Oct. 26, 1979, murder of Catherine Alexander, who was robbed, held captive for 83 hours, stabbed 16 times and then fatally crushed by a car.

 The execution came two hours after Circuit Judge Anthony H. Johnson of Orlando ruled Bottoson competent. The Florida Supreme Court rejected an appeal of Johnson's ruling. The U.S. Supreme Court also rejected an appeal Monday that argued Bottoson was mentally retarded.

 In his ruling, Johnson agreed with state psychiatrists who found that Bottoson understood that he was about to die and the reasons for his execution, two requirements under Florida law.

 Dr. Wade Myers, a state psychologist, testified Monday in Orlando that while Bottoson sometimes hears God and believes if he were to stand at Alexander's grave God would resurrect her, that does not mean Bottoson is mentally ill.

 "There are evangelists every Sunday who have large viewerships who say they're also receiving the same messages from God," Myers said. "I think when you begin to label fundamental Christian beliefs as psychosis, it's not justified."

 But a clinical psychologist hired by Bottoson's lawyers issued a report saying he is insane.

 "Mr. Bottoson's chronic mental illness renders him unable to rationally and factually understand and appreciate the reason the State of Florida is seeking his execution and unable to factually comprehend that his death will in fact occur," psychologist Xavier Amador wrote after meeting with him last week.

 "He understands himself to be locked in the middle of a battle between Jesus and Satan, a battle he is certain, as one of God's prophets, Jesus will win."

 Court documents show that Bottoson's mother was obsessed with religion and forced Bottoson to constantly read the Bible, pray, and preach from street corners from the time he was seven to 9 years of age.

 In the summer of 1962, Bottoson attempted suicide in his church. He was taken to a psychiatric hospital and diagnosed with an acute schizophrenic episode.

 Bottoson kidnapped Alexander, robbing her post office of $144 and 37 money orders worth $400 each. The 74-year-old woman was held captive for 3 days -- some of that time in a car trunk -- before Bottoson killed her.

 Bottoson was arrested after his wife tried to cash one of the money orders. Alexander's shoes and the knife apparently used to stab her were found in Bottoson's house.

 Bottoson is not the 1st person executed in Florida who was alleged to be incompetent.

 In June 2000, Thomas Provenzano was executed although he believed he was Jesus Christ. Provenzano, 51, was executed for the murder of William "Arnie" Wilkerson, 1 of 3 bailiffs shot in 1984 when the unemployed electrician opened fire. The other 2 bailiffs were paralyzed; one has since died.

 Florida has executed 2 others inmates this year, both of them in October. Since Florida reimposed the death penalty in 1976, 53 inmates have been executed. A total of 250 have died since the state took over executions from the counties in 1924, including a federal inmate who died in the electric chair for murder on the high seas.

 Bottoson becomes the 3rd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Florida and the 54th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1979. Florida trails only Texas (288), Virginia (87) and Missouri (59) in the numbers of executions in America since the United States Supreme Court re-legalized the death penalty, on July 2, 1976.

 Bottoson becomes the 64th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA, and the 813th overall in America since executions resumed on January 17, 1977.