Death Penalty and People with Mental Illness

Case Study

Larry Robison

Larry Robison was born into a middle-class white family on August 12, 1957. Growing up, he was a good student, played in little league, was on the swim team, and in the high school band. His parents began to notice unusual behaviors by the time Larry was in junior high, which they attributed to experimental drug use. His family took him to the Family and Children’s Center and at Kansas University Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas, to find out what was wrong, but this effort resulted in an incorrect diagnosis. It was not until Larry was 21 years old that he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. However, because his parents insurance no longer covered him, he was quickly discharged.

After taking him to two other hospitals for help, his parents were repeatedly told that he could not stay for treatment longer than 30 days because he was “not violent” and the hospitals “needed the bed.” One of the facilities admitted to Larry’s parents that his condition was very serious and it would only worsen without treatment but there was nothing they could do because he was “not violent.” Adding to the tragedy Larry was denied care at various hospitals, the doctors did not have Larry sign a release when he left the last hospital, which prevented him from getting medication at the Fort Worth, Texas Mental Health / Mental Retardation offices. The doctors also neglected to inform Larry’s parents that without this much needed medication, Larry would be unable to cope. Tirelessly, his family continued their attempts to get Larry help, and consistently they were told by the hospitals, “Unless he does something violent, there’s nothing we can do."[i]

After being ignored by the system in all of their attempts for help, Larry’s family faced the unimaginable. Larry had murdered five people in one night. His family was horrified, but they thought that because of his “violence” he would be committed to a hospital and would be able to get the help that he needed. He was arrested, denied bond for a year, not given any psychological evaluations despite his prior medical history, and continued to deteriorate while he sat in prison awaiting his sentence of death. In the 16 years that Larry was on death row, he saw a psychiatrist twice, both times initiated by Larry’s parents. There was no mental health treatment provided nor did he receive any medication for his mental state.

While on trial, Larry’s family discovered that there was a family history of mental illness including his uncle, a brother and a grandfather who were all diagnosed and hospitalized with paranoid schizophrenia. The judge did not allow any of this information to be transmitted to the jury due to an objection raised by the District Attorney trying this case. Larry’s mental illness was not even considered as a mitigating circumstance. Larry was executed on January 21, 2000.

Medical research shows that paranoid schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that can be hereditary and can now usually be treated with proper medication and services. Unfortunately, Larry’s story illustrates how people who make life-determining choices are unaware about mental illness and refuse to accept its full effect on culpability.

Larry’s younger sister was diagnosed as having manic-depression and schizo-affective disorder. A similar pattern began to emerge when Larry’s mother attempted to obtain help for her daughter. After the battle she fought for Larry, she delivered a “three-minute version” of her son’s story to the mental health administrators. Her daughter is now enrolled in a residential program where she receives excellent care.xii

In her delivery of the opinion of the Supreme Court case, Penry v. Lynaugh, (1989), Justice Sandra Day O’Connor suggested that the eighth amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment includes “executing persons who are profoundly or severely retarded and wholly lacking in the capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of their actions.” She further states that, “such persons, however, are not likely to be convicted or face the prospect of punishment today, since the modern insanity defense generally includes "mental defect" as part of the legal definition of insanity…”[ii]

Larry Robison is just one example of the countless people involved in the criminal justice system who are “profoundly lacking in the capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of their actions” but are nevertheless executed.

For more information on how to use the resources provided, contact:

National Mental Health Association
Phone: 800/969-NMHA
TTY Line: 800/433-5959
Email: infoctr@nmha.org

In providing these materials we are enabling our affiliates to respond in a timely way to death row cases through letter-writing campaigns and media outreach. By providing this Justice for Death Row Inmates Resource Kit, NMHA seeks to offer its affiliates and other advocates with important tools to empower and inform their advocacy efforts specific to death penalty cases.

Resources
NMHA Position Statement
Advocacy Strategies

Juveniles
Issue Brief
Case Study
Talking Points
Sample Letter
Sample News Release

Adults with Mental Illness
Issue Brief
Case Study
Talking Points
Sample Letter
Sample News Release