Yesterday, Circuit Court Judge John Gasaway rejected the request, by Paul Reid's sister, Linda Martiano, to be named as her brother's next friend. While Gasaway conceded that Ms. Martiano had the necessary relationship with Reid to be named next friend, he claimed that the petitioners had not made a prima facie showing of mental incompetence.

Now, I'll be the first person to tell you that I am not a lawyer, and I don't understand all the intricacies of the law (I still get nervous when I have to pronounce "prima facie" to be completely honest), but I've read the judge's opinion as well as the affidavits submitted on Reid's behalf. Particularly, I'd call attention to the affidavit of George W. Woods, M.D., a neuropsychiatrist. Dr. Woods is a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, a board member of the Executive Committee of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health, and on the advisory board of the Health Law Institute at DePaul University. In other words, this guy knows his stuff.

In Dr. Woods' affidavit, he states uncategorically, that "Mr. Reid is presently incompetent under the analysis required by and of those standards." He explains that Reid suffers from paranoid delusions (the "military government" is controlling all the people around him, manipulating his behavior, and torturing him with "scientific technology")which make him incapable of making rational decisions. Reid believes that his current counsel are members of the military government conspiracy. Additionally, Woods explains, Reid experiences memory problems, "repeats" of odd deja vu moments.

Now this is a sworn statement from a medical professional in the highest standing in his field. Dr. Woods' states, more than five times, that Reid is incompetent. So how did Judge Gasaway respond?

With a complete rejection! Apparently, even though Dr. Woods repeatedly describes Reid's symptoms and problems, he does not specifically refer to Reid being asked about his legal options and therefore does not prove that Reid is incompetent of understanding his current legal situation! So, even though the guy believes that his lawyers are part of a vast governmental conspiracy against him, even though he thinks that execution is the only way to escape from the torture of the military technology, even though he has problems remembering, and even though he has persistent delusions which he holds to unshakeably, he might still be able to make rational decisions about his legal case according to Gasaway!

The fact that the state is still proceeding in its attempt to execute Paul Reid on June 28th is a tragedy. But the fact that our legal systems can even make the claim that this man is mentally competent to make any decision is a farce. It simply demonstrates how out of undeveloped our legislative understanding of mental illness is in comparison to our scientific understanding. It is past time that we, as a society, recognize this serious error and stop the legal killing of the mentally ill!