Why the latest U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the death penalty is such a big deal
The Latest on the Supreme Court decision on the use of the death-penalty for executions (all times local):5:15 p.m.
A federal appeals court has ruled the death of a mentally disabled man in Oklahoma was unjustified by the death sentence given to the man in a federal court.
The 9th U.P.C. in Tulsa issued its ruling Friday after a three-day hearing.
The appeals court rejected the state’s request to block execution of Charles “Chuck” Ladd, who had dementia and severe mental illness.
Ladd was convicted in 2005 of murdering two men who were sitting in his truck.
He was found guilty in 2008 of the killings and sentenced to death.
He appealed his conviction.
The court ruled that a district judge should have imposed the death sentences on Ladd based on evidence from a medical examiner, not a judge.
It said the medical examiner testified that Ladd suffered from dementia, severe mental health problems and had been confined to a wheelchair for the past three years.
