Rector v. Bryant, Attorney General of Arkansas, Et Al.

In Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U. S. 399 (1986), this Court recognized that “the Eighth Amendment prohibits a State from carrying out a sentence of death upon a prisoner who is insane.” Id., at 409-410. The full Court, however, did not attempt a comprehensive definition of insanity or incompetence in this setting. See id., at 407-408, 409-410; id., at 418 (Powell, J., concurring in part and concurring in the judgment). This petition presents the question whether a prisoner whose mental incapacity renders him unable to recognize or communicate facts that would make his sentence unlawful or unjust…