OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The lethal injection of an Oklahoma man scheduled to be executed next month has been paused for 100 days so that a hearing can be held to determine if he's mentally competent enough to be executed.
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals issued the stay of execution on Dec. 22 for James Ryder, 61. Ryder was scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Feb. 1 for his role in the 1999 slayings of a mother and son in Pittsburg County after a property dispute.
“Having reviewed the evidence, we find the matter should be remanded to the District Court of Pittsburg County for a hearing to determine whether Ryder ‘has raised substantial doubt as to his competency to be executed,'” the appellate court wrote in its order.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the court's decision.
Ryder's attorneys have argued for years that he is incompetent and that his mental illness has become worse since he's been imprisoned on death row. Several psychologists have diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia and concluded he is not competent.
Under Oklahoma law, an inmate is mentally incompetent to be executed if they are unable to have a rational understanding of the reason they are being executed or that their execution is imminent.
