Butcher scheduled for execution tonight in dismemberment death

JACKSON – (AP) – The Mississippi Supreme Court has refused to block the June 20 execution of Gary Carl Simmons, a grocery store butcher convicted of killing a man who was shot and dismembered in Pascagoula in 1996.

The Supreme Court, in its 6-2 decision Thursday, gave no explanation for why it turned down a request from Simmons’ attorneys to stay the execution for two weeks because they say more time is needed for two mental health evaluations and an appeal based on their results.

Simmons is scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the state penitentiary at Parchman.

On June 5, the court set the execution date for Simmons, but granted requests for evaluations by a forensic psychologist and a neuropsychologist. His lawyers filed another motion Monday, contending there isn’t enough time before the scheduled execution to complete the evaluations and, if warranted, to file an appeal based on the results.

The Mississippi attorney general’s office responded Wednesday in a court filing that said the request is a delay tactic and argued the court should deny a stay of execution.

Simmons’ lawyers argued that he suffers from a mental illness and was abused as a child. If evaluations support the claims, lawyers want the court to order Simmons resentenced, giving him a chance to avoid execution.

The attorney general’s office filing said Simmons’ sanity “is not in question” and that if he’s allowed to get the evaluations then other death row inmates will ask for the same type of tests to delay their executions.

In a response filed Wednesday, Simmons’ attorneys argued his due process rights would be violated if sufficient time isn’t permitted for the evaluations.

Simmons, now 49, was convicted of killing Jeffrey Wolfe in August 1996.

Prosecutors said Wolfe had gone to Simmons’ home to collect a drug debt. Timothy Milano, Simmons’ co-defendant and the person authorities said shot Wolfe, was convicted on the same charges and sentenced to life in prison.

Police said Simmons and Milano kidnapped Wolfe and his female friend and later assaulted the woman and locked her in a box.

Police said they later found parts of Wolfe’s body at Simmons’ house, in the yard and in a nearby bayou. The woman was not killed.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*