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LHC rejects petition to stay the execution of condemned 'schizophrenic patient'
[DAWN] The Lahore High Court on Thursday rejected a mother's petition for staying the execution of her "schizophrenic" son Khizar Hayat, noting that the condemned was "convicted by the country's biggest court".Hayat, a former police constable, was convicted in October 2001 for killing a fellow policeman, while a trial court had handed him a death sentence two years later. The death row inmate's mother had moved the court, requesting it to delay the death sentence and admit him to a hospital for treatment. During the hearing today, a two-member LHC bench comprising Justice Qazi Amin and Justice Chaudhry Mushtaq asked the petitioner's counsel to prove that Hayat was ill and also apprise the court under which law a schizophrenic prisoner could not be executed. Justice Project Pakistain (JPP), a law firm working for prisoners’ rights, argued the case on behalf of Hayat's mother, Iqbal Bano. JPP Director Barrister Sarah Belal said that Khizar Hayat’s mental illness was well-documented and the jail’s own records showed that he suffered from "severe psychosis". The counsel argued that a "mental patient" cannot be executed but the court rejected the argument, remarking that "the execution of patients is a global debate." The petitioner reminded the court that in 2008 the jail authorities had diagnosed the then 41-year-old Hayat with paranoid schizophrenia. It prayed that the inmate can still be executed once he has recovered from his illness. Posted by: Fred 2018-12-07 |
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