Execution Report: Jonathan Green

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A jury convicted Green of capital murder in July 2002 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in December 2004.

Green had previously been set for execution in June 2010, but his attorneys claimed he was mentally incompetent, and won a stay from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The trial court subsequently held a hearing and determined Green to be competent to be executed. The stay was withdrawn, and Green's execution was rescheduled for 10 October 2012.

As Green's new execution date approached, his attorney, James Rytting, contended that Green was mentally ill and that his mental condition deteriorated between 2010 and 2012. Prosecutors said that a letter Green sent to Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon, outlining his complaints about his trial and the case against him, was evidence that he was rational.

On Monday, 8 October, a U.S. district court issued another stay of execution so that Green's mental illness claim could be reconsidered. Judge Nancy Atlas said Green was denied due process at his June 2010 competency hearing. Atlas said her ruling was concerned "only with the question of whether Green is entitled to a stay of execution and not with the ultimate question of whether he is incompetent to be executed."

Texas' attorney general, Greg Abbott, appealed the district court's decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. That court disagreed with Atlas's ruling that Green did not receive due process at his competency hearing. The Fifth Circuit ruled on Tuesday that Green presented insufficient evidence to rebut the findings of the June 2010 competency hearing, and lifted the stay of execution.

Green's attorneys then took their case to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday. The execution was delayed for nearly five hours. The high court ultimately rejected the appeal.

At his execution, when the warden asked Green if he wanted to make a last statement, he answered, "No." Seconds later, he changed his mind, saying "I'm an innocent man. I did not kill anyone. Y'all are killing an innocent man." The lethal injection was then started. "My left arm is killing me, it hurts bad," Green said before losing consciousness. He was pronounced dead at 10:45 p.m.

By David Carson. Posted on 11 October 2012.
Sources: Texas Attorney General's office, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, court documents, public records, Houston Chronicle, Los Angeles Times.