Edwards & James Earl Reed
The Supreme Court today decided Indiana v. Edwards on the right of self-representation for those who are competent enough to proceed to trial, wish to proceed pro se, but are so mentally encumbered as to make a trial, at best a meaningless affair, at worst a travesty. Exhibit one as to why the Court held today that a state may require counsel for defendants in such a position is Friday nights scheduled execution in South Carolina in James Earl Reed.
James Earl Reed, scheduled to die in South Carolina’s electric chair Friday, made two fatal miscalculations: killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents and representing himself at trial, one of his attorneys said.
“Had James not represented himself, he would not be on death row today, that’s for certain,” said Columbia attorney Joe Savitz, who represented Reed during his appeals.
Reed, 49, will be the first person electrocuted in South Carolina in more than four years. He has been on death row since 1996, when he was convicted of murdering Joseph and Barbara Lafayette in their Charleston County home two years earlier. Prosecutors said he was looking for an ex-girlfriend.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Anyone with connection to this case, please email me at mkinnard@ap.org