(C) Florida Phoenix This story was originally published by Florida Phoenix and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . DeSantis orders execution but inmate Owen’s not giving up, asks U.S. Supreme Court to intervene [1] ['Michael Moline', 'More From Author', '- June'] Date: 2023-06-13 Duane Eugene Owen, facing execution on Thursday evening for the sexual assault and hammer murder of a South Florida woman in 1984, continues to fight for his life, this time through an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Owen claims he was suffering from a delusion that he is a woman trapped in a man’s body, but that by having sex with women while killing them he could absorb their female essence and that they would live on in him. In a pleading filed Monday with Justice Clarence Thomas, who screens appeals arising from Florida, Owen’s state-appointed attorneys repeated claims that he is too mentally ill to be executed. The Florida Supreme Court has already rejected the same arguments, which involve claims that Owen suffers schizophrenia and dementia. A commission of three psychiatrists appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis concluded Owen is faking mental illness but a defense neuropsychologist concluded that his illness is real. “Owen lacks a rational understanding of the connection between his crime and impending execution due to his fixed psychotic delusions and dementia,” the defense told the justice in a written pleading. “Owen’s claims are not subject to any procedural impediments because Owen’s claim regarding his incompetency to be executed only became ripe on May 9, 2023, when his death warrant was signed,” they continued, adding that “the state courts placed undue emphasis on Owen’s past competency and mental illness instead of solely focusing on his present mental condition.” U.S. Supreme Court interpretations of the Eighth Amendment require that people about to be executed must understand the nature of the punishment and why it’s being inflicted upon them. ‘Minimal interest in finality’ “Florida has a minimal interest in finality and efficient enforcement of judgments, but Owen, whose delusions and dementia prevent him from rationally understanding the consequences of his execution, has a right in ensuring that his execution comports with the Constitution. This right includes the ability to have meaningful judicial review of the complex constitutional claims he timely raises,” the pleading argues. Owen has a separate motion to block his execution pending before U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith in South Florida, “but with Owen’s execution date only being a few days away, Owen petitions for a writ of certiorari in the event the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida does not render a decision regarding the habeas petition in time,” the defense wrote. He’s to be executed for sexual battery and murder of a mother named Georgianna Worden with five hammer blows to the head within weeks of sexually assaulting and stabbing to death Karen Slattery, a teenaged babysitter, in 1984, both in Palm Beach County. He received a separate death sentence in the Slattery case. His would be the fourth execution that Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered in Florida in 2023, according to the Associated Press, and the first since the governor formally opened his presidential campaign on May 24. The other executions happened in February, April, and early May. The justices haven’t indicated whether they’ll set oral arguments. [END] --- [1] Url: https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/06/13/desantis-orders-execution-but-inmate-owens-not-giving-up-asks-u-s-supreme-court-to-intervene/ Published and (C) by Florida Phoenix Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/floridaphoenix/