Judge mulls Arizona prisoner’s mental fitness to be executed

(KYMA, KECY/ AP News) - A judge plans to issue a ruling Wednesday night on a request by an Arizona prisoner to stop his May 11th execution in what be the state's first execution in nearly eight years.

Clarence Dixon is requesting for the stop on the grounds that his psychological problems keep him from rationally understanding why the state wants to end his life.

His lawyers say that executing their client for his murder conviction in the 1978 killing of 21-year-old college student Deana Bowdoin would violate protections against executing people who are mentally unfit.

They also claim Dixon has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia on multiple occasions and has regularly experienced hallucinations over the past 30 years.

If the execution stays on course, Dixon will be executed by lethal injection.