Fact Sheet
VASMIE fact sheet on the SMI exclusion
smi-coalition-fact-sheet-2016-11-30-final-pub.pdf
Media
Bill to ban death penalty for severely mentally ill clears GOP-controlled Va. Senate
The Washington Post (January 17, 2019)
Ban on execution of mentally ill moves forward in Virginia Senate
Publication: The Daily Press (January 14, 2019)
https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-nws-death-penalty-20190114-story.html
It’s cruel but not unusual for Virginia to execute the seriously mentally ill
By Paul O’Shea
The Blue View (June 15, 2018)
Stop Executing the Severely Mentally Ill
By Dale M. Brumfield
Bacon’s Rebellion Op-Ed (January 3, 2018)
http://baconsrebellion.com/stop-executing-severely-mentally-ill/
Death Penalty for Mentally Ill Defendants?
By Damien Cabezas & Rhonda Thissen
Lynchburg News and Advance Op-Ed (December 17, 2017)
No solace in executing mentally ill killers
By Rachel A. Sutphin
Bristol Herald Courier Op-Ed (November 30, 2017)
Gov. McAuliffe made an irreversible mistake
By Gene Rossi and Edward J. Ungvarsky
The Washington Post Op-Ed (July 21, 2017)
Executing a severely mentally ill man would be an injustice
By Nicholas Cote
The Washington Post Op-Ed (June 16, 2017)
A Veteran’s Plea: Stop Executing People with Severe Mental Illness
By Dr. Frederick J. Frese, III, Ph.D.
Medium Op-Ed (June 12, 2017)
https://medium.com/@fredfrese/a-veterans-plea-stop-executing-people-with-severe-mental-illness-5f4520776d0a
There ought to be a death penalty exemption for the seriously mentally ill
By Liza Long
Idaho Stateman Op-Ed (April 19, 2017)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/opinion/readers-opinion/article145478329.html
Does the U.S Mentally Ill Americans Be Executed? It’s Complicated
By Shaila Dewan
New York Times (April 11, 2017)
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/us/mental-illness-death-penalty.html
End the death penalty for mentally ill criminals
By Bob Taft and Joseph E. Kernan
Washington Post Op-Ed (March 24, 2017)
An act of compassion for the mentally ill
By Rev. Richard Cizik
Virginian-Pilot Op-Ed (January 29, 2017)
Severe Mental Illness and the Death Penalty
By Michael E. Stone
Jefferson Policy Journal (January 4, 2017)
http://www.jeffersonpolicyjournal.com/severe-mental-illness-and-the-death-penalty/
Severe mental illness and Virginia’s death penalty
By Brandon L. Garrett
Richmond Times-Dispatch Op-Ed (December 3, 2016)
Virginia must reform its approach to the death penalty and mental illness
By Dale Brumfield
Richmond Times-Dispatch Op-Ed (September 3, 2016)
Resolutions
American Bar Association Mental Illness Resolution (2006)
American Psychological Association (January 2007)
http://www.apa.org/monitor/jan07/associations.aspx
Mental Health America: Death Penalty and People with Mental Illnesses (2011)
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/positions/death-penalty
National Alliance on Mental Illness
http://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Public-Policy/Death-Penalty
Reports
Serious Mental Illness Among U.S. Adults, National Institute of Mental Health (2014)
Mental Health Issues among Adults and Adolescents, National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2014), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
http://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-FRR1-2014/NSDUH-FRR1-2014.htm#idtextanchor073
Virginia Death Penalty Assessment Report (2013) – Recommendation in support of a severe mental illness exemption
Double Tragedies: Victims Speak Out Against the Death Penalty For People with Severe Mental Illness, National Alliance on Mental Illness (2009)
http://media.wix.com/ugd/267fcf_cf3df30f8d494cd593acc3cc3cc13286.pdf
Battle Scars: Military Veterans and the Death Penalty, Death Penalty Information Center (2015)
http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/files/pdf/BattleScars.pdf
The Execution of Mentally Ill Offenders, Amnesty International (2006)
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/AMR51/003/2006/en/
Legislation
Severe mental illness exemption legislation proposed in the 2017 General Assembly:
- Legislative history
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=171&typ=bil&val=hb1522
- Copy of bill
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+HB1522+pdf
- Fiscal Impact Statement
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+oth+HB1522F160+PDF
Severe mental illness exemption legislation proposed in the 2016 General Assembly:
- Legislative history
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161+sum+HB0794
- Copy of bill
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161+ful+HB794+pdf