is a possible title for this stage in the life of paul dennis reid...

i moved to tennessee in july of 1996 and the tragic killings of 7 fast food workers in nashville and clarksville soon dominated the news on my television ... eventually paul dennis reid was arrested, convicted and given death sentences for these killings...

it was soon apparent, and documented, that paul reid had serious mental health problems the symptoms of which you can gleam if you read the 92 page hand-written letter he wrote and are part of the court records in his case...

reid has a fatal date with the state of tennessee of june 28th but his sister, linda martiniano, has filed a request of the court to name her as a "next friend", that would give her standing to intercede on his behalf because he is mentally incompetent...

this petition reveals once again the hidden victims of capital punishment, the family members of the condemned, who are "asked" to become survivors of a homicide victim as a sadly ironic counterpoint to the family members of random murder victims (or survivors of homicide victims)...

the tennessean story is below and tcask will be blogging more about this case, mental illness and the death penalty, and the failure of capital punishment as a policy response for murder victim's family members ... peace out - <3


Sister fights for killer Reid's life
She seeks to carry on appeals process that he has given up Paul Dennis Reid

By SHEILA BURKE
Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, 05/27/06

The sister of seven-time convicted murderer Paul Dennis Reid, who is scheduled to be executed next month after refusing to sign legal papers that would continue his appeals, has picked up the legal battle on behalf of her brother, seeking to stop the execution.

Reid, 48, terrorized Middle Tennessee in 1997, committing a string of fast-food robberies that left seven workers dead and another injured. He is scheduled to die by lethal injection June 28 for the stabbing deaths of two Clarksville Baskin-Robbins employees.

On Tuesday, Reid's sister, Linda Martiniano, along with a state defense attorney and an investigator, filed a petition in Montgomery County Circuit Court asking a judge to stay the execution. The sister and the other petitioners want the court to designate them as "next friends" - people who know him and are acting in his best interest - because, they say, he is mentally incompetent.

Earlier this month, the Tennessee Supreme Court said Reid and another inmate could give up their appeals if they wished. But the court also allowed a mechanism for people close to them to file the appeals on behalf of prisoners who are not competent.

The legal documents say Reid is mentally ill, brain damaged and believes that he is being monitored and tormented by a military government. Reid also believes he was framed for the murders, the papers state.

"Actually, Paul Reid is at the point where he's deteriorated so badly, there is no decision he can make free from his illness," said Kelly Gleason, one of his attorneys.

One victims' rights advocate, however, said Reid should be allowed to give up his appeals.

"He should be allowed to make the decision for himself," said Verna Wyatt of You Have the Power. "He was competent when he committed the murders and he tried to cover it up and when he eluded police for several months."