Case Charles Laverne Singleton

Treatment or Killing

In 1979 Charles Laverne Singleton convicted of murder Mary Lou York, owner of a grocery store. According to Police Officer testimony at the crime scene, Mary York before die identify Charles Laverne Singleton as whom convicted the crime before she died. She died in the way to the hospital due to bleeding of her neck wound. That same year, Singleton was sentenced to death. At the period that he was waiting to be executed he becomes mentally ill. Later, he was medically treated to improve his state of mind. Singleton's execution had been planned five times during the 25 years until 2004 that he was executed. Arkansas court received permission from the Supreme Court, on October 2003, to use medications for Charles Singleton,

He was treated while he was in prison on death row. For many years, Mr. Singleton consumes antipsychotic drugs voluntarily and sometimes were forcefully because he was danger to himself and others. He believed his victim is alive and waiting for him, so he was not very sensible. Base on Mental Health weekly (2003), “the Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment for people with mental retardation constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, prohibited under the Eighth Amendment” (p. 1). While Singleton’s lawyer shows evidence base on his client mental illness that he cannot be executed because drugs only reduces the symptoms of his illness and his was not wise enough to insist on his innocence. But the Arkansas court issued a death sentence against him and force him medication before the time of his execution on January 2004. Arkansas court puts doctors in dilemma, adhere to their medical oath or criminal law. Regarding to the medical oath, doctors are not allowed to participate in the execution or use of drugs to take people life. Duty’s doctors are helping and treatment of patients not killing the patient. (Eisenberg, 2004). This gave a moral framework that prohibited medical treatment to be executed. Regarding, drug administration it is only a doctor’s duty that can administer the effects of drugs, no one else is able to prescribe the drug because he or she does not know about drug’s effect on humans. In this case, giving medicine to the Singleton was contrary to medical goal because the purpose of medicine is treated not to kill a person. If Charles Laverne Singleton stays in prison, he did not harm anyone, and he was not a threat. He suffered from schizophrenic and it was a kind of