Oklahoma death row inmate deemed incompetent for execution

A Pittsburg County district court has ruled that death row inmate Wade Lay is incompetent to be executed.

Lay was sentenced to death in 2005 after being convicted in the murder of a bank security guard. He was scheduled to be executed on June 6th.

“The available evidence demonstrates, by a preponderance or greater weight of the evidence, that Mr. Lay is currently incompetent to be executed according to the governing legal standards.” The court wrote.

According to the order, the court is required to order therapy for Lay, which is intended to help him understand why he’s being executed and that an execution is imminent.

“We are relieved that the district court and the State recognize that Wade Lay’s delusions prevent him from having any rational understanding of the reason for his execution, and carrying out that execution would violate the Constitution,” Lay Attorney Callie Heller said. “Wade firmly believes that his execution is part of a wide-ranging government conspiracy aimed at silencing him.”

Lay’s attorneys say he has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

He was convicted in the 2004 death of Kenneth Anderson during a bank robbery. Lay does not deny the killing.

Read the court order here