Final Meal:
Tortillas, tacos, burritos, Spanish rice, cheese dips, chips, six Cokes, and chocolate cake.

Final Words:
"The statement that I would like to make is, none of this should have happened and now that I'm dying, there is nothing left to worry about. I know it was a mistake. I have no one to blame but myself. It's no big deal about choosing right from wrong. I pray that everyone involved overlooks the stupidity. Everybody has problems and I won't be a part of the problem anymore. I can quit worrying now, it was all a mistake. That's all I want to say." Colburn made one final comment as the lethal dose of drugs entered his system. "It's going to be like passing out on drugs."

Internet Sources:

Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Executed Offenders (James Colburn)

Texas Attorney General Media Advisory

AUSTIN - Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information on James Blake Colburn, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26, 2003.

On Oct. 10, 1995, James Blake Colburn was sentenced to death for the capital murder of Peggy Murphy, which occurred near Conroe, Texas, on June 26, 1994. A summary of the evidence presented at trial follows:

FACTS OF THE CRIME

James Blake Colburn murdered 56-year-old Peggy Murphy in his apartment by choking her and stabbing her in the neck with a knife. Colburn then went to a neighbor's apartment and asked the neighbor to call the police. After he was arrested, Colburn gave a videotaped confession to Montgomery County Sheriff's Detective Francisco Hidalgo.

In his confession, Colburn admitted that on the morning of June 26, he cooked a steak for breakfast and went outside. As he crossed the street, he noticed Peggy Murphy hitchhiking down the road. Colburn introduced himself and invited Murphy into his home.

Once inside the apartment, Murphy asked for a beer. Colburn went next door and returned with a beer. He then offered to show Murphy some of his artwork, but when she entered his bedroom, Colburn grabbed her and attempted to rape her. When Murphy resisted, Colburn strangled her until she stopped breathing. Colburn then stabbed her in the neck with a steak knife to make sure she was dead.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Aug. 10, 1995 - A grand jury indicted Colburn in the 221st Judicial District Court of Montgomery County, Texas, for the capital offense of murdering Peggy Murphy while in the course of attempting to commit sexual assault.

Oct. 6, 1995 - A jury found Colburn guilty of capital murder.

Oct. 10, 1995 - Following a separate punishment hearing, the court assessed a sentence of death.

Jan. 17, 1997 - Colburn filed an application for writ of habeas corpus in the trial court.

Feb. 25, 1998 - His conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in a published opinion.

Dec. 2, 1998 - The Court of Criminal Appeals denied habeas relief in an unpublished order.

Dec. 2, 1999 - Colburn filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division.

May 21, 2001 - The federal district court denied habeas relief and permission to appeal.

Nov. 19, 2001 - Colburn requested permission to appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

May 9, 2002 - The Fifth Circuit denied permission to appeal.

Sept. 3, 2002 - Colburn petitioned the United States Supreme Court for certiorari review.

Sept. 25, 2002 - The 221st District Court of Montgomery County appointed two psychologists to examine Colburn and determine his competency to be executed.

Oct. 21, 2002 - Both psychologists reported that Colburn was competent to be executed.

Nov. 5, 2002 - The Supreme Court denied certiorari.

Nov. 6, 2002 - Colburn filed a second petition for writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court, complaining that he was denied a fair competency determination by the 221st District Court of Montgomery County. Colburn also filed a second petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, which was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Colburn then requested permission to appeal from the Fifth Circuit, which was also denied. Finally, Colburn filed an application for stay of execution in order to file a third petition for writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court, which was granted.

Nov. 8, 2002 - The Supreme Court ordered an expedited briefing schedule.

Jan. 21, 2003 - The Supreme Court denied both certiorari petitions and vacated its stay of execution.

PRIOR CRIMINAL HISTORY

Colburn was previously convicted of burglary of a building on Oct. 19, 1977; attempted burglary of a building on Feb. 23, 1978; unauthorized use of a motor vehicle on July 16, 1979; aggravated robbery on May 22, 1980; arson on Jan. 25, 1990; and false statement in acquisition of a firearm on Jan. 2, 1991. Colburn also assaulted his wife with a motorcycle helmet on Jan. 11, 1990, fracturing her cheekbone and causing nerve damage.

ProDeathPenalty.com

James Blake Colburn of Montgomery County was convicted of the June 26, 1994 stabbing of Peggy Murphy, 55, after she rebuffed his sexual advances. In his confession, Colburn admitted that he woke up on the morning of June 26, cooked a steak for breakfast, and decided to go outside. As he crossed the street in front of his apartment, he noticed Peggy Murphy hitchhiking. Colburn introduced himself and invited Murphy into his home. Once inside, Murphy asked for a beer. Colburn went next door and returned with a beer. He then offered to show Murphy some of his artwork, but when she entered his bedroom, Colburn grabbed her and attempted to rape her. When Murphy resisted, Colburn strangled her until she stopped breathing. Colburn then stabbed her in the neck with a steak knife to make sure she was dead. After the murder, Colburn went to a neighbor's apartment and asked them to call the police. Colburn told the police in a videotaped confession that he killed Peggy because he wanted to go back to prison.

Colburn was previously convicted of burglary of a building on Oct. 19, 1977; attempted burglary of a building on Feb. 23, 1978; unauthorized use of a motor vehicle on July 16, 1979; aggravated robbery on May 22, 1980; arson on Jan. 25, 1990; and false statement in acquisition of a firearm on Jan. 2, 1991. Colburn also assaulted his wife with a motorcycle helmet on Jan. 11, 1990, fracturing her cheekbone and causing nerve damage. Colburn also kicked her on another occasion. Colburn had served 6 years of an 18 year sentence for the aggravated robbery charge. He was sent back to prison for parole violations as well as a new 5 year sentence for arson but was released less than a year later.

Peggy was murdered about four years after Colburn was released. "I knew what I was doing when I killed her. When I laid her on the bed, something snapped,'' Colburn said. When he realized she was dead, he turned himself in, he said. "I'm not scared,'' Colburn said. ``I'll be free as I know it. I think this is, in a way, a step in the right direction for me. If I got out, I'm scared somebody else would be hurt or killed.'' Colburn had previously been scheduled for execution in November of 2002 but received a stay.

Huntsville Item

"Mentally Ill Killer Executed for 1994 Murder," by Brian Lacy. (03/27/03)

Five months ago on Nov. 6, James Colburn received a stay of execution one minute before being moved to the death chamber. On Wednesday evening, the 43-year-old ran out of time and appeals, and was put to death for the murder of a hitchhiker inside his Conroe-area apartment in 1994. ''None of this should have happened and now that I'm dying there is nothing left to worry about,'' Colburn said in a brief final statement. ''I know it was a mistake. I have no one to blame but myself."

Colburn suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. Prosecutors, who didn't dispute Colburn's mental illness, claimed he was competent and understood why he was facing lethal injection. Colburn was a repeat offender who was on parole when arrested for the capital murder of 55-year-old Peggy Louise Murphy. ''None of this should have happened and now that I'm dying there is nothing left to worry about,'' Colburn said in a brief final statement. ''I know it was a mistake. I have no one to blame but myself." "I pray that everyone involved overlooks the stupidity," he said, adding he was at peace. "Everybody has problems and I won't be part of the problem any more. I can quit worrying now.'' Colburn made one final comment as the lethal dose of drugs entered his system. ''It's going to be like passing out on drugs,'' he said. He gasped slightly and his eyes closed. He was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m., eight minutes after the flow of drugs began.

Tina Morris, Colburn's sister, expressed her anger with the state of Texas after watching her brother die. ''The state we fought so hard to help with his illness just killed my brother,'' said Morris, who sobbed throughout the execution. ''The state has killed a very mentally ill man.'' Members of Murphy's family, who stood motionless and silent throughout the execution, declined to comment afterward.

According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Colburn reportedly lured 55-year-old Peggy Louise Murphy to his apartment where he attempted to rape her. When she resisted, Colburn stabbed her several times with a kitchen knife and strangled her. Following the killing, Colburn went to a neighboring apartment and asked its residents to notify the sheriff's department. Arrest reports indicated that Colburn told authorities that he killed the woman because he wanted to return to prison.

The Supreme Court last year halted executions of the mentally retarded as unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment, but the justices so far have refused such blanket protection for the mentally ill. But without comment in January, the justices refused to review his appeal, lifted the reprieve and Montgomery County authorities rescheduled the execution. The Supreme Court denied two stays Wednesday night shortly before the execution. The execution was the 12th this year in Texas.

Texas Execution Information Center by David Carson.

James Blake Colburn, 42, was executed by lethal injection on 26 March 2003 in Huntsville, Texas for the attempted rape and murder of a 56-year-old woman.

On 28 June 1994, Colburn, then 34, was walking in front of his apartment when he noticed Peggy Murphy hitchhiking. He introduced himself and invited her into his apartment for a drink. He then attempted to rape her, and when she resisted, Colburn strangled her until she stopped breathing. He then stabbed her in the neck with a steak knife to make sure she was dead. Following the killing, Colburn went to a neighboring apartment and asked the residents to call the sheriff's department. After Colburn was arrested, he gave a videotaped confession. He said that he killed the woman because he wanted to return to prison.

Colburn had six prior felony convictions from 1977 to 1991. In June 1980, he began serving an 18-year sentence for aggravated robbery and burglary of a building. He was paroled in January 1987. In April 1990, he began serving a 5-year sentence for arson. He was released in March 1991. (At the time, early release was common in Texas because of strict prison population caps imposed by U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice.)

Colburn also had a history of mental illness. He began seeing psychiatrists at age 14, and at 17 was diagnosed as having paranoid schizophrenia. Dr. Walter Quijano, a psychiatrist testifying for the state, agreed with this diagnosis, but nevertheless testified at a competency hearing that Colburn was competent to stand trial and was sane at the time of the murder. Defense lawyers had another psychiatrist, Dr. Carmen Petzold, examine their client, but decided not to use her testimony in court.

A jury convicted Colburn of capital murder in October 1995 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the conviction and sentence in February 1998. In his appeals, Colburn's lawyers argued that their client's trial was unconstitutional because Colburn was heavily medicated with antipsychotic drugs, rendering him incompetent to stand trial. They said that their client slept and snored loudly through parts of the trial, and when he was awake, the medication caused him to appear cold and unemotional, prejudicing the jury against him. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that argument, noting that Colburn's trial lawyers thought that their client's medicated, blank-eyed state would lead jurors to believe he was insane, and their decision to allow him to be tried in that state was a trial tactic that failed.

On death row, Colburn was frequently taken to the psychiatric ward, including a stay from June through September 2002. His lawyers say he was placed in treatment because he had been eating his feces and drinking his urine. They noted that the only way Colburn could be considered mentally competent was through the administration of medication. Colburn's death row nickname was "Shaky," because of the tremors in his hands and body.

"She did nothing to upset me," Colburn said in an October 2002 interview, a week before a prior scheduled execution date. "I was just in a bad state of mind. I was undergoing bad influences -- voices, illusions -- that were fueling my paranoia." Regarding his upcoming execution, he said, "all the turmoil -- Satan, the devil -- will be gone. All my past history will be swept under the rug and I'll turn over a new leaf. I think there's something substantially good in this."

The day before the scheduled execution, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 7-2 against granting a stay. However, the next day, Colburn's lawyers entered another appeal at 5:59 p.m., one minute for the execution was scheduled to begin. It was put on hold while the Supreme Court considered the appeal. At about 8:00 p.m., the Supreme Court granted a stay, and Colburn was not executed. In January 2003, however, the court lifted the stay, and his execution was rescheduled. The Supreme Court denied Colburn's lawyers' requests for another stay.

"None of this should have happened and now that I'm dying, there is nothing left to worry about," Colburn said in his last statement. "I know it was a mistake. I have no one to blame but myself ... I won't be part of the problem any more." As the lethal injection began flowing into his body, Colburn said, "It's going to be like passing out on drugs." He was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m.

TheDeathouse.Com (March 26, 2003)

"Mentally Ill Killer Executed in Texas," by Robert Anthony Phillips.

HUNTSVILLE, Tex. - James Colburn, the mentally ill killer who once said he was afraid that demons would dig up his corpse after he died, has been executed by lethal injection. Colburn was put to death Wednesday night at the state prison here for the 1994 murder of Peggy Murphy, 55. Colburn, in a videotaped confession, said he stabbed and strangled Murphy after she had fought off his attempts to rape her in his Conroe area apartment.

From the execution gurney minutes before death, Colburn was apologetic for the murder. "Everybody has problems," Colburn, 43, said. "I won't be a part of the problem any more." "I know it was a mistake," he said. "I have no one to blame but myself. " His sister, Tina Morris, watched him die and could be heard crying from the witness area as the lethal drugs were administered to her brother at 6:13 p.m. Colburn was pronounced dead eight minutes later, the 301st convicted murderer executed in Texas since 1982. The scheduled execution of Colburn had brought strong criticism from anti-death penalty groups and mental health advocates. Colburn was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic and had previously been in mental institutions.

He Was Mentally Ill, But...

Although acknowledging his mental illness, prosecutors said Colburn was found to be legally sane for his trial because he understood what he had done and understood right from wrong. Although the U.S. Supreme Court has banned the execution of mentally retarded killers, it has not ruled that mentally ill murderers cannot be executed. Such organizations as the National Mental Health Association and Amnesty International had criticised Colburn's pending execution. Colburn had been on parole when he killed Murphy. He had a criminal record dating back to 1977, including convictions for burglary, arson, assaulting his wife and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

In his confession, Colburn had said he saw Murphy hitchhiking and invited her inside his apartment. Once there, he gave her a beer and said he wanted to show her his artwork. When she entered the bedroom, Colburn tried to rape her. When she resisted, Colburn said he strangled her and then stabbed her with a steak knife. Colburn then went to a neighbor and asked the neighbor to call police. The murder occurred on June 26, 1994.

Sedated During Trial

Colburn had been diagnosed by doctors as a paranoid schizophrenic. His lawyers argue that Colburn suffered from hallucinations, heard voices and had to be sedated during his murder trial in 1994. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle before his scheduled November 2002 execution, Colburn said one of his fears after dying was having his corpse dug-up by the Devil’s agents.

Colburn: 'I'll Be Free'

In an interview with the Associated Press, Colburn said he looking forward to being executed. "I'm not scared," he told a reporter. "I'll get out of here. I'll be free as I know it. I think this is, in a way, a step in the right direction for me. If I got out, I'm scared somebody else would be hurt or killed." Colburn said the woman he killed, Murphy, did nothing to upset him. He said he was in a "bad state of mind" when he killed her and knew what he was doing.

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

James Blake Colburn (TX) - March 26, 2002 - 6:00 PM CST, 7:00 PM EST

The state of Texas is scheduled to execute James Blake Colburn March 26 for the 1994 murder of Peggy Murphy. Colburn, a white man, has an extensive history of chronic paranoid schizophrenia, a serious mental illness with symptoms including hallucinations and delusions. He displayed signs of this condition on the day of his crime, and also suffered several psychotic episodes while in pre-trial detention. The state acknowledged Colburn’s severe mental illness at trial, yet sought the death penalty despite it.

On Nov. 6, 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court intervened to stop Colburn’s scheduled execution to review questions surrounding his competency. However, in January of this year, the high court refused to take his appeal, and the state of Texas responded quickly with another execution date.

Colburn allegedly stabbed and strangled Murphy, a 55-year-old woman, on June 26, 1994. Shortly after the murder, he went to a neighbor’s house, confessed his crime, and waited for the police to come and arrest him. He told investigators: “this one impulse came over me said to kill her…I couldn’t stop myself.”

Doctors first diagnosed Colburn with paranoid schizophrenia at age 17, recognizing his auditory and visual hallucinations. His horrible experiences during that year severely complicated his condition; the victim of a violent homosexual rape, he developed a chronic post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression with suicidal impulses. His attempts at self-medication eventually led to chronic substance abuse, and he suffered from periods of dissociation and memory deficits.

At the onset of Colburn’s trial in October 1995, the prosecutor said, “You are going to hear evidence that the defendant is a paranoid schizophrenic…You will hear evidence that he’s heard voices and you are going to see him on tape. He’s shaking or fidgeting. The State is not going to contest or deny any of that…” Knowingly violating every relevant human rights resolution passed in the United Nations since 1997, the state went on to make its case for executing Colburn.

Meanwhile, evidence indicates that Colburn was essentially unaware of the courtroom proceedings – a fairly clear sign that he may not have been competent to stand trial. Under heavy sedatives for his mental illness, he fell asleep several times at the defense table. His attorneys constantly prodded him to stay awake, but the lapses continued throughout the trial.

Recognizing problems with handing this mentally ill man a death sentence, the jurors inquired about the possibility of alternative punishments. During deliberations, they sent this written question to the trial court: “Given a life sentence, is there a possibility of parole in this case?” Seemingly, the jurors were seeking a punishment that would prevent a future threat to society, but also avoid the execution of Colburn. The court refused to respond to this question, holding that the jury should not consider parole when determining whether a defendant should be sentenced to life or death.

Under the law applicable in this case, if the jury sentenced Colburn to life imprisonment, he would not become eligible for parole until he actually served forty years. In other words, the defendant, 35 years old at the time, already in poor mental and physical health and with a history of drug abuse, would have the very earliest possibility of leaving prison at the age of 75.

The jurors’ question to the trial court indicates that they simply wanted to protect society from Colburn’s violent tendencies in the future, but avoid a death sentence if possible. They found a life sentence problematic only because they did not understand the consequences of such a sentence, and they perceived no other punishment as practical. The court’s refusal to answer that question insinuated that the only way to prevent Colburn from harming society again was to execute him; this was not the case, and the jury should have fully understood that when determining his sentence.

The state’s scheduled execution of Colburn directly contradicts countless human rights resolutions and principles, and also displays the state’s apathetic position toward people with mental disorders. Please write the state of Texas to request a commutation for James Colburn.

Houston Chronicle

"Mentally ill inmate executed; Colburn admits killing woman was mistake," by Rosanna Ruiz.

HUNTSVILLE -- March 27, 2003 -- James Colburn, a mentally ill man who was executed Thursday, said he made a mistake in 1994 when he fatally stabbed a woman with a kitchen knife. "None of this should've happened and now that I'm dying there is nothing left to worry about," Colburn said as he was strapped to a gurney and covered up to his chest with a white sheet. "I know it was a mistake. I have no one to blame but myself. Everyone has problems and I won't be a part of the problem anymore."

As the lethal drug cocktail coursed through his veins, Colburn said: "I can start to feel it now -- it's going to be like passing out on drugs." Colburn, 43, breathed heavily and then was still. He was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m.

He was convicted and sentenced to die for the murder of Peggy Murphy, a Montgomery County woman. Murphy's family members stood stoically during the execution as Colburn's sister, Tina Morris, wailed in the adjacent room. Murphy's son, her niece and two nephews were among those who witnessed the execution. Her family didn't comment after the execution.

"The state has killed a very mentally ill man," Morris said to reporters outside the Huntsville Unit. "I feel sorry for the victim's family but I also feel sorry for my family right now, too." Colburn's brother, Bobby Gene Fitzsimmons II, said that his brother was blameless because he could not make decisions for himself. Colburn, a former carpenter and bricklayer, was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia when he was 14. "Society is very uneducated when it comes to mental illness," Fitzsimmons said.

One of Colburn's lawyers, Philip Hilder, had hoped for another last-minute reprieve from the Supreme Court after he received word about an hour before the execution that a federal appeals court had denied the request for a stay. Colburn was a moment away from death in November when the Supreme Court halted the execution so his lawyer could pursue the issue of his mental competence. Hilder and lawyer James Rytting had argued that Colburn's schizophrenia made him incompetent for execution because he is unable to understand the reason for his punishment.

Hilder, who was Colburn's last visitor Wednesday, spoke to his client before he dined on his last meal of tacos, burritos, Spanish rice, cheese dip and chips. He also requested six Cokes and a chocolate cake. "He does not have an appreciation of what is pending -- he understands it in a very superficial way," Hilder said just before he delivered the news to Colburn's family that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal's denied the appeal.

During the appeals process, prosecutors argued that Colburn's mental illness is not severe enough to render him legally insane and should not exempt him from full enforcement of the law. Court-appointed psychologists interviewed Colburn in October and concluded that despite his mental illness he understood that his execution was imminent and the reason for his punishment. A more extensive evaluation done last month by a neuropsychologist hired by Colburn's lawyers determined that he did not fully comprehend that he had been found responsible for Murphy's death.

Colburn murdered Murphy on June 26, 1994, in his apartment near Conroe. Murphy, 55, was hitchhiking on a street outside Colburn's apartment when she asked for a drink of water. He invited her inside his apartment and attempted to rape her. When she resisted, he choked her until she passed out, then he stabbed her in the neck with a knife. He then asked a neighbor to call police. He reportedly smoked a cigarette as he waited for their arrival. Colburn confessed later that day, telling officers he heard a voice telling him that killing Murphy would send him back to prison, where he felt safe. He had been in mental institutions at least twice and in and out of prisons for burglary, robbery, assault and arson. He was on parole at the time of the slaying.

Colburn is not the first prisoner diagnosed with a mental illness to be put to death. At least four Texas inmates last year were executed after raising the same claim. Advocates for the mentally ill, who believe the logic of last year's U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Atkins v. Virginia should apply to all criminal defendants who suffer from mental impairment, opposed Colburn's execution. In the Atkins case, the court ruled that executing the mentally retarded was not constitutional. It did not address those suffering from mental illness.

CNN Law Center

"Mentally ill inmate facing death this week loses clemency bid." (AP March 25, 2003)

LIVINGSTON, Texas (AP) -- The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles refused to grant clemency Monday to a mentally ill condemned killer facing execution later this week. James Colburn doesn't deny killing the 55-year-old woman as she resisted a rape attempt at his apartment, but his lawyers contend he should be spared because he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. Colburn, 43, set to die Wednesday evening, was turned down by the parole board in a 16-1 vote with one abstention.

Colburn's lawyer, James Rytting, acknowledged Monday that he didn't expect the panel to rule in Colburn's favor. "At some point, we do hope when the bodies mount high enough, people's attitudes will change," Rytting said.

Colburn won a last-minute reprieve in November from the U.S. Supreme Court, which stopped his scheduled lethal injection one minute before he could have been taken to the death chamber in Huntsville. The high court in January then refused to take up the issue of whether prisoners like Colburn are too mentally ill to be executed, clearing the way for authorities in Texas to reschedule Colburn's death.

The Supreme Court last year halted the execution of the mentally retarded as unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment, but the justices so far have refused blanket protection from the death penalty for people with mental illness. Colburn, whose criminal past includes convictions for arson and robbery, was convicted of killing Peggy Murphy, 55, on June 26, 1994.

Deathrow.at

JAMES COLBURN

New execution date set for March 26, 2003

James Colburn won a reprieve from the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday night, 2 hours after he could have been put to death, when his attorneys filed a last-minute appeal that questioned his competency. The appeal was received at 5:59 p.m., 1 minute before James Colburn could have been taken from his cell and strapped to the death chamber gurney, the Texas attorney general's office told prison officials. "The basis for the motion is we did not get an adequate process in state court regarding Mr. Colburn's competency to be executed," James Rytting, one of Colburn's lawyers, said. Just after 8 p.m., the court said the execution was put off.

"It was a relief," Colburn said as he was removed from a holding cell for the return trip to death row. "It was a blessing from God. I was relieved for my family." "It was a surprise," he added.

In a brief statement, the Supreme Court said the last-ditch appeal went to Justice Antonin Scalia, who then referred it to the full court. The justices said the reprieve was granted "pending the timely filing and disposition of a petition for writ of certiorari," which is a request for the court to review the case. The court said if the petition was denied, the reprieve granted Wednesday evening automatically would be terminated. If the writ is granted, the reprieve is continued until the court determines the case. If the reprieve was lifted, under Texas law it would be at least another 30 days before Colburn could be executed.

Once prison officials in Huntsville received word of the court order, Colburn was taken by van to death row, at a prison about 45 miles to the east. Even though the execution hour was imminent, Colburn never was taken to the death chamber. "As is our custom, we never remove the offender from the holding cell until we get an OK from the governor's office and the attorney general's office," Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Larry Fitzgerald said.

It was Colburn's 2nd appeal to the Supreme Court in as many days. The justices Tuesday rejected an appeal that contended Colburn, 42, a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, unfairly could not assist his lawyers at his 1995 trial because he was so heavily sedated. He recently said it was God's will that he be executed. "This is what the Lord wanted," Colburn said last week from death row, where he was sent by a Montgomery County jury for the 1994 slaying of a woman authorities said he tried to rape at his home. "If the Lord wanted me to live, they would have given me a life sentence."

Mentally retarded people are protected from the death penalty by a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June. The ruling, however, did not extend to those determined to have mental illness. "Executing people with severe mental illness instead of treating them is one of the grossest violations of human rights that one could possibly imagine," said Stephen Hawkins, executive director of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. "I'm not scared," Colburn said. "I'll get out of here. I'll be free as I know it. I think this is, in a way, a step in the right direction for me. If I got out, I'm scared somebody else would be hurt or killed."

In his confession to police and in recent interviews with reporters, the former carpenter and bricklayer said he was responsible for choking and stabbing to death Peggy Louise Murphy, 55, on June 26, 1994. The woman had been hitchhiking and walked by his Conroe-area apartment. He offered her some water and invited her inside. When she told him she'd give him some food stamps in exchange for a beer, he got some from a neighbor, then attacked her in a bedroom. "It was a chance meet," Colburn said. "I can't handle my liquor. She did nothing to upset me. I was just in a bad state of mind. ... The devil works through alcohol, drugs. "I knew what I was doing when I killed her. When I laid her on the bed, something snapped." He said he choked Murphy and when she made a gurgling sound, "I panicked and ran to the kitchen. I got a steak knife and plunged it into her throat." When he realized she was dead, "I turned myself in," he said.

Colburn had been in mental institutions at least twice and was a repeat parole violator after serving a number of prison sentences for crimes including arson and robbery. During one prison stay, he picked up his nickname, "Shakey," after fellow inmates noticed he suffered tremors, he said.

His criminal record was used by prosecutors to show he would be a threat to society if not given a death sentence. 2 other condemned Texas killers, Jermarr Arnold and Monte Delk, were executed earlier this year after similar appeals about their mental illness failed. "The system needs to take into account a person's mental illness when determining what charges to file and how to prosecute," agreed Charles Ingoglia, vice president for research and services at the Alexandria, Va.-based National Mental Health Association. "Even though medical knowledge around mental illness has advanced a great deal, not only has the legal profession not kept pace, but society in general does not really understand what mental illnesses are and aren't."

James Colburn has long struggled with delusions brought on by paranoid schizophrenia. Many are religiously oriented, as he revealed in a 1995 interview with a clinical psychologist in which he said the voices he heard made it appear he was being followed: "The voices more or less whisper it to me. They're like illusions, coming to me from some other world, from somewhere close to God. I'd be scared if I actually saw God. "These voices come from somewhere around him. They're real. If they weren't, I wouldn't be here. It's like God is trying to get across to everyone in the world that it's all some kind of game. God's controlling my mind.

"I feel that these voices led me to find this woman and kill her. It was wrong ... wrong in God's eyes and wrong in everyone else's eyes. That's why I should get the lethal injection. All these voices want me to do is get the lethal injection. They just want to shut me up. They just want me to kill people. "They're never going to let up until I die. They haunted me until I did kill someone. They're not going to be happy until I'm dead and a lot of other people are dead. I don't like talking about these things. They just get me more and more upset.

"They tried to get me to kill someone before when I was out on parole -- my mother and my brother and my grandparents. They are bothering me even now. God created me. He should get rid of me." "You are going to hear evidence that the defendant is a paranoid schizophrenic... You will hear evidence that he's heard voices and you are going to see him on tape. He's shaking or fidgeting. The State is not going to contest or deny any of that..." Prosecutor, opening statement, trial of James Colburn, October 1995.

The State of Texas intends to kill James Blake Colburn in its execution chamber on 6 November 2002. It intends to do so despite the fact that the 42-year-old Colburn has an extensive history of chronic paranoid schizophrenia, a serious mental illness whose symptoms include hallucinations and delusions. His mental illness is undisputed by the state. He was displaying signs of his illness on the day of the crime, including at the time of his confession to police. In pre-trial detention, his mental health treatment was inadequate, resulting in several psychotic episodes. Finally, there is evidence that he was not competent to stand trial not least because during that period he was receiving injections of a powerful sedative drug which apparently caused him to lose awareness of the proceedings and even to fall asleep in open court.

James Colburn's execution would fly in the face of repeated resolutions at the United Nations calling on the diminishing list of countries that still retain the death penalty not to impose it or carry it out against people with mental disorders. Past cases suggest that the Texas authorities care little about such resolutions or international human rights treaties and other standards. In which case, Texas is part of a problem that its former governor, George W. Bush, cited in a recent address to the UN General Assembly. Seeking a resolution on Iraq, President Bush spoke of UN resolutions being "unilaterally subverted", and proclaimed the US Government's desire to see a United Nations that is "effective, and respected, and successful". For consistency's sake, not to mention for the sake of compassion, the President should make a personal appeal to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and to his successor in the governor's mansion in Austin, in favour of commutation of James Colburn's death sentence.

Amnesty International members in the USA and around the world continue to appeal to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to recommend that Governor Rick Perry commute James Colburn's death sentence in the interest of justice and decency and the reputation of Texas and the country as a whole (see Urgent Action 300/02, AMR 51/157/2002, 3 October 2002).

The crime and confession

On 26 June 1994, Montgomery County police in eastern Texas received a phone call from a neighbour of James Colburn who said that Colburn had told him that he had just killed a woman and that her body was in his apartment. James Colburn waited for the police to arrive, and was arrested after the body of 55-year-old Peggy Louise Murphy was found in his home. She had been strangled and stabbed.

At the police station, on the same day as the murder, James Colburn gave a videotaped confession. He told the interrogating officer that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. The recording indicates that Colburn was struggling with his mental illness. He rocked back and forth in the chair when sitting and paced to and fro when standing. He lost control of his bladder, and had to be provided with dry clothing. The interrogating officer noticed that James Colburn was shaking uncontrollably.

In his confession, James Colburn said that he had seen Peggy Murphy on the highway and had invited her into his apartment. He stated that he had "this flash that he was going to hurt her". He said that he tried to have sex with her, but that she did not want it, and he abandoned his attempt. He said that "this one impulse came over me said to kill her... I couldn't stop myself". After the murder he said that he had considered leaving the area, but had instead decided to go to his neighbour's home and tell him to call the police.

The question of sanity and competency

James Blake Colburn first began displaying symptoms of mental illness, including auditory and visual hallucinations, in his teens and was first diagnosed as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the age of 17. This was also the age at which he was subjected to a homosexual rape by a man who had picked him up hitchhiking.

At the time of the murder of Peggy Murphy, James Colburn was being treated on an outpatient basis for paranoid schizophrenia. His treatment appears to have been irregular. For example, on 4 May 1994, eight weeks before the murder, the psychiatrist on his case wrote in Colburn's medical records: "Off meds? Several months. Needs to restart".

According to a post-conviction psychiatric assessment, in the week leading up to the murder James Colburn was allegedly experiencing increasing auditory and visual hallucinations. He said that on the evening before the murder he took an overdose of Valium, about 10-15 pills, in response to an auditory command hallucination to kill himself. When he awoke the next day, he was still experiencing auditory hallucinations. Soon afterwards he saw Peggy Murphy and invited her into his apartment. According to the confession, and his subsequent psychiatric assessments, the auditory command hallucinations continued during the time she was in his home, and according to his recollection, led directly to her murder.

In pre-trial custody in Montgomery County Jail, it seems that James Colburn's mental health care was less than adequate. Despite being an indigent defendant, the jail required Colburn to pay for his medication from the small amount of money he had in his commissary account. At times, this mentally ill man chose to spend his money on soft drinks and sweets rather than on anti-psychotic medication. Indeed, the jail records indicate that there were gaps in his pre-trial treatment. For example, the entry for 27 June 1994 reports that Colburn was on suicide watch. There is then no other entry until 11 September 1994. On 19 September, the record indicates that James Colburn "states he no longer will continue taking his medication due to the fact that he does not want to loose [sic] money from commissary to pay for it." On 9 October, he was treated on an emergency basis. He was suicidal and had been urinating and defecating on himself, and was "very agitated". He was again placed on suicide watch. A few days later, the records indicate that he was again refusing medication because "he does not want to pay for it". On 21 October, he was "very agitated and contemplating suicide". He was placed in restraints and given anti-psychotic medication. In November 1994, he told the doctor that he was hearing voices that were telling him to kill himself. The doctor apparently persuaded him to resume his medication. There are no records for the next 2 months. His condition deteriorated in mid 1995. An entry of 6 June, for example, stated that Colburn "stated that he wants to kill himself. He also states that he hears voices that tell him to kill himself and that his family is dead". He was again placed in restraints.

As part of the proceedings against him for the murder of Peggy Murphy, the trial court appointed psychologist Walter Quijano to evaluate James Colburn's sanity at the time of the murder and his competency to stand trial. Dr Quijano concluded that Colburn was "mentally ill with Schizophrenia, paranoid-type, chronic, and should be in an inpatient psychiatric-type setting for his and others' protection". He concluded, however, that James Colburn was competent to stand trial, that is, that he was able to consult with his lawyer and had a rational as well as a factual understanding of the proceedings against him. Dr Quijano also concluded that Colburn was sane at the time of the crime, that is, that he knew his conduct was wrong at the time he committed it.

The trial took place in October 1995, 10 months after Dr Quijano's examination. No competency hearing was requested by the defence or ordered by the court of its own accord at the time of the trial. At the trial, Dr Quijano testified as to the seriousness of James Colburn's illness, stating that his "paranoid schizophrenia is what we call intractable. It is chronic. It is not expected to disappear. He is chronically mentally ill and the onset is childhood and it is difficult to manage and difficult to treat." Dr Quijano was not asked, however, nor did he offer an opinion, as to James Colburn's present competency.

At the request of the defence attorneys, another psychologist, Carmen Petzold, examined James Colburn in August 1995. She concluded that "he suffers from severe chronic mental illness, paranoid schizophrenia, depression with suicidal ideation, chronic polysubstance abuse, most likely linked to attempts at self-medication, and some memory deficits. It also appeared that he may have been suffering from a chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder due to having been raped at age seventeen, which could produce blackouts, or periods of dissociation". She also concluded that he "appears...competent to stand trial". She further stated that it was "likely that on or about the time of the alleged offense, his judgment was severely impaired, possibly due to the interactive effects of his chronic mental illness, the presence of any drugs in his system, and his emotionally labile state due to the suicidal ideation." In her opinion, "the impact of his mental illness, including the presence of the suicidal ideation caused by living with the hallucinations, cannot be ruled out as preventing him from conforming his behavior to the law at the time of the crime".

A few days before the trial, the defence attorneys contacted Dr Petzold, and informed her that she would not be needed to testify at the trial. Defence counsel relied solely on Dr Quijano to provide expert testimony on behalf of their client.

During the trial, James Colburn received injections of Haldol, an anti-psychotic drug which can have a strong sedative effect. A lay observer, a nurse with experience of mentally ill patients, later signed an affidavit in which she stated: "I strongly believe that James Blake Colburn was under the influence of sedative drugs during the course of his capital murder trial. James Blake Colburn clearly experienced temporary losses of awareness while his trial was in progress and witnesses were testifying. James Colburn's lapses into what appeared to be a sleep state were not rare. The lapses were frequent in their occurrence. At intervals approximately ten minutes to fifteen minutes apart, James would begin to lean forward to the point that his chin rested on his chest and James was directly facing the table top before him. James would remain in this position until one or the other of his attorneys prodded him awake. When James did awaken he seemed confused..." She stated that, in her opinion, James Colburn's "lethargic condition prevented him from participating in his defense or even paying attention to his own murder trial".

In post-conviction affidavits, James Colburn's trial lawyers stated that they believed that their client had been competent to stand trial. However, they acknowledged that their client had "dozed occasionally during the trial. On one occasion, Mr Colburn commenced snoring loudly and we requested a recess to permit him to wake up". The trial record contains the following on that particular incident: Defence lawyer 1: Judge, I don't think that it matters, but I think I need a break to walk my client around the room a little bit. He's snoring kind of loud. Defence lawyer 2: They apparently injected him last night to calm him down and I appreciate it. But he's sleeping right now. Defence lawyer 3: I don't know if it's going to matter too much, but I think it would be better if we had a minute to walk him around to wake him up.

The question of future dangerousness

On 10 October 1995, the jury returned a death sentence, having determined that James Colburn would represent a future danger to society if allowed to live. A finding of "future dangerousness" is a prerequisite to a death sentence in Texas.

Even today, there is public fear and ignorance around the subject of mental illness. Under the Texas capital sentencing scheme, even if the defence attorneys put on a persuasive case that their client's mental illness demands compassion, it may not be enough to overcome jurors' fears of the individual in front of them, whom they have just convicted of a violent crime. In some cases, legal representation of mentally ill capital defendants has been inadequate, as has been suggested in this case. This may be due to lack of resources or lack of experience. In other cases, a prosecutor's bid for a death sentence may lead such officials to play on juror fears and make a death sentence more likely under Texas's capital sentencing scheme.

Arguing for a death sentence, the prosecutor in James Colburn's case suggested that the jury might prevent mass murder if they voted for execution: "To save the life of an innocent person is a huge thing when it is compared with the taking of a person that voluntarily chose to kill. How many lives will it save? I submit to you, even if there's a chance it will save one, he should be executed. But who knows, it may save one, it may save a dozen, it may save a hundred."

Despite such exhortations, the jury evidently wished to consider a life sentence for this mentally ill man. During its deliberations, the jury foreman wrote a note to the trial judge asking if the defendant would be eligible for parole if he received a life sentence. The judge replied that the jurors were not to concern themselves with the issue of parole.

In 1999, the foreman from the Colburn jury signed an affidavit. In it, he stated that, in his opinion, "the lack of information regarding when Mr Colburn could be released was a significant factor in some jurors' decisions at the punishment phase". This would appear to be confirmed by the affidavit of another member of the jury who said that her "central concern was with protecting society, and the only way I thought I could do that was to make sure that Mr Colburn did not receive parole... [Th]e Judge's reply only increased our frustration. We still had no idea if Mr Colburn would be released in ten, fifteen, twenty or forty years... Consequently, jurors continued to discuss the possibility that Mr Colburn would be released early". This juror said that the "primary reason" that she had voted for a death sentence was because of her "fear that Mr Colburn would be released early. Mr Colburn was 34 years old at trial. Had I realized that he would not finish serving his prison time until he was over 70 years of age, I sincerely believe that I would have voted to give him a life sentence".

The death sentence is upheld on appeal

The appeal courts have upheld the death sentence. This has been despite a number of affidavits and other additional information supporting the claim that James Colburn may not have been competent to stand trial. The power of executive clemency exists precisely to compensate for the rigidities of the judiciary, and are able to give full consideration to the fact of James Colburn's undisputed mental illness. The Texas clemency authorities should do the decent thing and recommend commutation of his death sentence.

A forensic psychiatrist, David Axelrad, was retained by James Colburn's appeal lawyers to review the prisoner's medical records and examine him for the purpose of his state-level appeals. He conducted the assessment in 1997, and undertook an additional review in November 1999. In a report in 1999, Dr Axelrad stated that, in his opinion, Dr Quijano's original psychological evaluation of James Coburn was sufficient for the purpose of arriving at an opinion regarding the defendant's competency to stand trial, but only at the time of his examination and report, 10 and eight months before the trial respectively. However, Dr Axelrad continued:

"Based upon my review of the medical records, during the time that he was incarcerated in the Montgomery County Jail at the time of the trial as well as my review of his records preceding his trial raises serious questions and concerns regarding his competency to stand trial at that time."

Dr Axelrad said that there should have been a competency determination at the time of the trial. He also said that, in his opinion, James Colburn was "actively psychotic" at the time of his confession, and that he had been "seriously sedated during the time of his trial". He also concluded that Montgomery County Jail had mismanaged James Colburn's treatment in pre-trial detention, and that the jail authorities should have continued to provide him medication when Colburn refused to pay for it himself. Finally, he suggested that James Colburn's trial attorneys had misunderstood their client's mental condition at the time of the trial.

In September 2000, Dr Walter Quijano signed an affidavit in which he stated, that based on the information about the apparent sedative effect of Colburn's Haldol injections, it was his opinion that "during the trial itself, as opposed to the date on which I examined him, it is not reasonably probable that Mr Colburn.....was legally competent to stand trial". Dr Quijano further offered his opinion that based on the sedative evidence, "in order to assess Mr Colburn's competency at the time of the trial, it would have been necessary to halt proceedings temporarily and adjust Mr Colburn's medication so that he was oriented and aware."

In the following month, Dr David Axelrad signed an affidavit, in which he agreed with Dr Quijano on the competency issue, stating: "it is my forensic psychiatric opinion that the presumption that Mr Colburn was competent during trial is not reasonable. Based on the fact that the court did not conduct a competency hearing or inquire in any fashion into whether Colburn was competent at the time of the trial, it is my forensic psychiatric opinion that it is not possible to retrospectively rebut evidence in the record indicating Mr Colburn was incompetent at trial with any forensic scientific confidence or professional integrity. Based upon my review of information available to the trial court, it is my forensic psychiatric opinion that evidence that Mr Colburn was actually incompetent during trial is clear and convincing."

The appeal courts have disagreed. In May 2001, the US District Judge for the Southern District of Texas upheld the conviction and death sentence. A year later, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected an appeal against the lower court's ruling, concluding that Colburn had failed to make a "substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right". On the question of the defendant's drowsiness during the trial, the Fifth Circuit judges said: "We need not determine the number of times Colburn fell asleep during trial because whether Colburn fell asleep once or slept through most of his trial is not dispositive of Colburn's competence".

The execution date of 6 November was set by the Montgomery County trial court. If the US Supreme Court refuses to intervene, and clemency is denied by the Texas executive, James Colburn will be killed on that date.

The execution of James Colburn looms at a time when 111 countries are abolitionist in law or practice, and when the international community has decided that the death penalty will not be an option in international tribunals prosecuting the most serious crimes in the world, including torture, genocide and crimes against humanity. James Colburn's execution would be one more reminder of how far the USA is behind much of the rest of the world on this fundamental human rights issue.

Each year since 1997, the United Nations Commission for Human Rights has passed a resolution which, among other things, calls on all retentionist countries not to impose or carry out the death penalty against anyone with any form of mental disorder. It is clear that the execution of James Colburn would directly contradict these resolutions. The US grassroots advocacy organization, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, opposes the use of the death penalty against people with schizophrenia and other serious mental illness. In 1998, the organization's director wrote of "the fundamental disconnection between law and science. The legal criteria for evaluating crimes committed by persons with severe mental illnesses were developed some 200 years ago. Conversely, medical professionals are able to accurately diagnose schizophrenia and other serious brain disorders due to remarkable scientific discoveries. Scientists also have established that schizophrenia impairs mental capacity in many cases. In view of this progress, a diagnosis of schizophrenia by a qualified medical expert should serve as a reason not to execute a criminal defendant." On 25 September 2002, US District Judge William Wayne Justice made an address to psychiatrists and others at the University of Texas-Houston Medical School. In it the District Judge, who was appointed in 1968 and has extensive experience of the Texas criminal justice system, stated that the Texas criminal justice system was operating under a "spirit of vengeance" in its dealings with the mentally ill. He referred to the case of Andrea Yates, a woman suffering from mental illness against whom Texas prosecutors recently sought the death penalty for killing her children: "Andrea Yates did a monstrous thing, but it not a monstrous human being. She is, ultimately, a pathetic and tragic figure". He said: "If we reject the moral necessity to distinguish between those who willingly do evil, and those who do dreadful acts on account of unbalanced minds, we will do injury to these people. But the ultimate injury is the one we will inflict on ourselves, and on the rule of law". Texas should commute the death sentence of James Colburn. It is time for the state to find a compassionate response to his crime.