John Richard Wood ruled incompetent for execution over mental illness
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 6
John Richard Wood ruled incompetent for execution over mental illness
7 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 6
South Carolina Judge Grace Knie found the 59-year-old death row inmate believes he is immortal; the ruling now goes to the state Supreme Court.
Three mental health experts, including one for prosecutors, agreed Wood cannot rationally understand his punishment or communicate with lawyers because of schizophrenia.
Wood was sentenced to death in 2002 for killing State Trooper Eric Nicholson. He is the first South Carolina inmate found incompetent for execution since executions resumed in 2024.
As states resume executions, how are courts defining the line between justice and cruelty for mentally ill inmates?
What happens when an inmate's delusions of immortality legally block his death sentence?