Update:Stay Granted February 25
The Honorable Michael Easley
20300 Mail Services Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0300
Transmitted by Facsimile:
(919) 733-2120
February 17, 2004
Dear Governor Easley:
We are writing to urge you to grant clemency to Mr. George Page who is scheduled for execution on February 27, 2004. Our hearts go out to the family of the officer in this case who died in the line of duty. However, we urge you to have mercy on Mr. Page who suffers from Bipolar Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and alcoholism.
Essential questions of fairness remain unresolved in this and other capital cases. We urge you to commute Mr. Page's death sentence to life without parole or delay the execution until the state can take a thorough look at the death penalty in North Carolina. As you know, the North Carolina Senate voted last year to impose a moratorium on executions in the state pending a thorough study of its system. The House will consider the question again this year. The pending legislation is an indication that many North Carolinians have serious concerns about the fairness and legitimacy of the death penalty in their state.
Part of the reason for supporting a moratorium in North Carolina is to ensure that the death penalty is administered fairly. Mentally ill people should not be executed. Their mental illness interferes with their ability to defend themselves. Thus they are more likely to be unfairly sentenced to death. Moreover, they are not as morally culpable because they were acting under the influence of forces beyond their control.
According to the National Mental Health Association, the criminal justice system inadequately addresses the complexity of cases of defendants with mental illness. Because of this, NMHA has called for a suspension of executions until the courts devise more ""just, accurate and systematic ways of determining and considering a defendant's mental status.""
Furthermore, public opinion is against executing mentally ill people. According to a 2002 Gallup Poll, 75 percent of the public surveyed opposed execution of the mentally ill. Last year alone, North Carolina executed six people who suffered from some type of mental disease or disorder -- Joseph Bates, Edward Hartman, John Daniels, Joseph Keel, Robbie Lyons and Quentin Jones. It is time to halt the executions and examine why so many mentally ill people are on North Carolina's death row.
The crime that occurred on February 27, 1995 was a direct result of Mr. Page's mental illness. While suffering a manic flashback episode Mr. Page fired a high-powered rifle out of the window of his apartment. He fired random shots into other units and into a car. When police responded to the call for help, one of the shots freakishly ricocheted through two car windows before fatally striking Officer Stephen Amos. Mr. Page stayed holed up in his apartment until a police negotiator and Mr. Page's psychotherapist, psychologist Dr. Pollock, succeeded in convincing him to surrender. Throughout the ordeal Mr. Page believed that he was surrounded by soldiers who were shooting at him.
Defense counsel requested the appointment of a forensic expert in PTSD to examine Mr. Page before trial, but the court denied the request, ruling that Dr. Pollock could provide expert testimony. Dr. Pollock is not a forensic expert, however, and was not able to present the PTSD defense in the manner that a properly qualified forensic expert could have done. Furthermore, after Dr. Pollock testified, the state impeached him by bringing out the fact that there were grievances pending against him, and his license was in danger of being suspended. The court denied the defense motion in limine to prevent the information about the grievances from being admitted.
A properly qualified forensic expert would have advised defense counsel about the importance of bringing forth information proving that Mr. Page had previously suffered disassociation episodes. Gaynell Lynch, who was married to Mr. Page from 1958 until 1976, swore that Mr. Page changed drastically after his service in Vietnam. Often she found him on the kitchen floor crying, and at other times he disappeared for days and had no memory of it. During one episode, Mr. Page became violent, yelling, ""I got him, Charlie. I got him, Charlie."" Another family member was prepared to testify that Mr. Page once shot a hole in the living room ceiling while he appeared to be in a trance. The jury did not hear this compelling testimony.
The state's expert at trial testified that Mr. Page did not serve in active combat and thus did not suffer from PTSD. Yet, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, 30% of adults who merely lived in war zones developed PTSD. Estimates are that as many as a million Vietnam Veterans suffer from PTSD, which is often accompanied by other mental disorders and alcohol or drug abuse, as is the case with Mr. Page.
Although the jury did not vote to spare Mr. Page's life, it did find several mitigating factors indicating that it believed Mr. Page was mentally ill. It found that Mr. Page was under the influence of a mental or emotional disturbance; that his capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law was impaired; and that he was under the voluntary care of both a psychiatrist and a psychologist on the day of the shooting.
The jury's role was to weigh aggravating and mitigating factors. Had they heard testimony from an authoritative expert on PTSD who had conducted a complete mental health evaluation of Mr. Page they might have voted to spare his life. Even so they found that his illness diminished his culpability. Surely you can use your clemency power to spare the life of a mentally ill man who served his country with distinction. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Very truly yours,
Rachel King, Esq.
Seth Jaffe, Esq.
ACLU Capital Punishment Project
ACLU of North Carolina