Court Stops Execution of Mentally Ill Man Defended by Many Evangelicals
Evangelicals divide over the death penalty, but leaders agree on the unusual case of Scott Panetti.
More than 50 evangelical leaders often at odds recently united, asking Texas to commute the death sentence of a mentally ill inmate who believes he is being persecuted for preaching the gospel. Scott Panetti’s execution was scheduled for today. This morning, an appeals court delayed his death with just hours to spare.
Shane Claiborne, David Gushee, Lynne Hybels, Joel Hunter, Sam Rodriguez, Jay Sekulow, and other conservatives and progressives signed the letter, which states that Christians are called to protect the most vulnerable and that Panetti, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia since the 1970s and murdered his in-laws to “get rid of the devil” inside them, falls into that category.
“If ever there was a clear case of an individual suffering from mental illness, this is it,” says the letter, whose other signatories include author Brian McLaren, Billy Graham Center prison ministry director Karen Swanson, Evangelicals for Social Action co-president Paul Alexander, Wheaton College’s Applied Christian Ethics Center director Vincent Bacote, former North Park Theological Seminary president John Phelan, and National Latino Evangelical Coalition (NLEC) board member Danny Diaz. “Mr. Panetti is a paranoid schizophrenic…. He believes that he is being put to death for preaching the gospel, not for the murder of his wife’s parents.”
In the decade before he murdered his in-laws in 1992, Panetti, now 56, was hospitalized at least a dozen times for schizophrenia, manic depression, hallucinations, and delusions of persecution, The New York Times reports. During his trial, Panetti won the right to represent himself, and tried to subpoena Jesus, the Pope, and John F. …
Qatar Frees Matt and Grace: Christian Couple Acquitted of Adopted Daughter’s Death
(UPDATED) The Huangs finally have permission to return home to the United States.
Update (Dec. 3): Matt and Grace Huang are on a plane home to Los Angeles, after finally having their travel ban lifted.
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An American couple living in Qatar, convicted of the death of their adopted daughter, and sentenced to three years in prison, have finally been acquitted of murder. But they are still banned from leaving the Gulf state.
“This has been an emotional trial for me and my family,” said Matthew Huang in a statement he read outside the courtroom Sunday alongside his wife, Grace. “Grace and I want to go home and be reunited with our sons. We have been unable to grieve our daughter’s death. But we want to thank the judge for today’s decision.”
Abdul Rahman al-Sharafi, an appeals court judge, threw out a guilty verdict and three-year prison sentence for the Huangs, who were convicted last April. Among other advocacy efforts, more than 180,000 people signed a Change.org petition for their release. Updates are being chronicled on Facebook and Twitter.
CT previously reported how Qatari officials accused the couple of starving their daughter, Gloria, who died suddenly in January 2013, in order to harvest her organs. Police were skeptical that American Christians would adopt children who are not “good-looking” or lack the same “hereditary traits.”
“I believe that authorities in Qatar suspected foul play because we are Asian and we adopted three children from Africa who are black,” Matthew told Katie Couric in October.
The couple’s defense: Gloria’s history of malnutrition from her home country of Ghana had given her an eating disorder.
Following the judge’s dismissal of charges against the Huangs, their attorneys and …
Qatar Frees Matt and Grace: Christian Couple Acquitted of Adopted Daughter’s Death
(UPDATED) The Huangs finally have permission to return home to the United States.
Update (Dec. 3): Matt and Grace Huang are on a plane home to Los Angeles, after finally having their travel ban lifted.
—–
An American couple living in Qatar, convicted of the death of their adopted daughter, and sentenced to three years in prison, have finally been acquitted of murder. But they are still banned from leaving the Gulf state.
“This has been an emotional trial for me and my family,” said Matthew Huang in a statement he read outside the courtroom Sunday alongside his wife, Grace. “Grace and I want to go home and be reunited with our sons. We have been unable to grieve our daughter’s death. But we want to thank the judge for today’s decision.”
Abdul Rahman al-Sharafi, an appeals court judge, threw out a guilty verdict and three-year prison sentence for the Huangs, who were convicted last April. Among other advocacy efforts, more than 180,000 people signed a Change.org petition for their release. Updates are being chronicled on Facebook and Twitter.
CT previously reported how Qatari officials accused the couple of starving their daughter, Gloria, who died suddenly in January 2013, in order to harvest her organs. Police were skeptical that American Christians would adopt children who are not “good-looking” or lack the same “hereditary traits.”
“I believe that authorities in Qatar suspected foul play because we are Asian and we adopted three children from Africa who are black,” Matthew told Katie Couric in October.
The couple’s defense: Gloria’s history of malnutrition from her home country of Ghana had given her an eating disorder.
Following the judge’s dismissal of charges against the Huangs, their attorneys and …
President Obama Cites Exodus on Immigration Reform: ‘We Were Strangers Once Too’
(UPDATED) Reactions from Sam Rodriguez, Russell Moore, Jenny Yang, Noel Castellanos on Obama’s motive vs. method.
Update (Nov. 20): Tonight President Barack Obama outlined his executive action on immigration reform, which could impact up to 5 million immigrants. He gave two citations: one from former President George W. Bush, and one from Exodus 23.
“Scripture tells us that we shall not oppress a stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger—we were strangers once, too,” said Obama. “My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too.”
His three-pronged plan:
- “We’ll build on our progress at the border with additional resources for our law enforcement personnel so that they can stem the flow of illegal crossings, and speed the return of those who do cross over.”
- “I will make it easier and faster for high-skilled immigrants, graduates, and entrepreneurs to stay and contribute to our economy, as so many business leaders have proposed.”
- “We’ll take steps to deal responsibly with the millions of undocumented immigrants who already live in our country.”
The third point will prompt much debate (Vox summarizes the talking points on both sides). For initial details, read the President’s full speech and the White House’s summary. Or watch it:
Among the early reactions, World Relief’s Jenny Yang—one of CT’s 50 Women You Should Know who coauthored an influential book alluding to the same Old Testament passage—said Obama’s action “will only provide a temporary solution” since the US Senate “took the right step forward in 2013 by passing a bill, but Congress was not able to finish the job.”
“Congress should see the President’s actions as impetus to …
President Obama Cites Exodus on Immigration Reform: ‘We Were Strangers Once Too’
(UPDATED) Reactions from Sam Rodriguez, Russell Moore, Jenny Yang, Noel Castellanos on Obama’s motive vs. method.
Update (Nov. 20): Tonight President Barack Obama outlined his executive action on immigration reform, which could impact up to 5 million immigrants. He gave two citations: one from former President George W. Bush, and one from Exodus 23.
“Scripture tells us that we shall not oppress a stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger—we were strangers once, too,” said Obama. “My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too.”
His three-pronged plan:
- “We’ll build on our progress at the border with additional resources for our law enforcement personnel so that they can stem the flow of illegal crossings, and speed the return of those who do cross over.”
- “I will make it easier and faster for high-skilled immigrants, graduates, and entrepreneurs to stay and contribute to our economy, as so many business leaders have proposed.”
- “We’ll take steps to deal responsibly with the millions of undocumented immigrants who already live in our country.”
The third point will prompt much debate (Vox summarizes the talking points on both sides). For initial details, read the President’s full speech and the White House’s summary. Or watch it:
Among the early reactions, World Relief’s Jenny Yang—one of CT’s 50 Women You Should Know who coauthored an influential book alluding to the same Old Testament passage—said Obama’s action “will only provide a temporary solution” since the US Senate “took the right step forward in 2013 by passing a bill, but Congress was not able to finish the job.”
“Congress should see the President’s actions as impetus to …
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