The United States carried out its second federal execution this week on Thursday when Wesley Purkey died of lethal injection after the Supreme Court cleared the way by lifting injunctions set in place by a federal judge who halted the execution to further evaluate Purkey's mental competency.
Purkey received the death penalty in 2004 after he was convicted in federal court for the interstate kidnapping and killing of 16-year-old Jennifer Long in 1998. "I deeply regret the pain and suffering I caused to Jennifer's family. I am deeply sorry. I deeply regret the pain I caused to my daughter, who I love so very much," said Purkey. He added, "This sanitized murder really does not serve no purpose whatsoever."
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued the injunction on Wednesday citing that Purkey suffers from progressive dementia, schizophrenia, and severe mental illness. However, Chutkan did not rule on Purkey's competency despite Purkey's legal team fighting to get a competency hearing. On Wednesday, Purkey's attorney Rebecca Woodman said he is "a 68-year old, severely brain-damaged and mentally ill man who suffers from advanced Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Though he has long accepted responsibility for his crime, he no longer has a rational understanding of why the government plans to execute him."
Source: cnn.com
