Steven Bixby, 58, was convicted for the 2003 killings of two police officers
A South Carolina judge allowed an execution to move forward after ruling that the man’s beliefs, including that most laws are unconstitutional and citizens have an absolute right to defend their property to death, do not prove he is mentally incompetent.
Steven Bixby, 58, was set to die in May for the 2003 killings of two police officers before the state Supreme Court stopped his execution in order to determine his mental competency. A lower court was asked to evaluate if his beliefs about the legal system meant his lawyers were unable to defend him.
The latest ruling, issued by Judge R. Scott Sprouse, gives the execution the green light, at least for now. Addressing concerns about the ability of Bixby’s lawyers to defend him, Scott said their client cooperates with his legal team and the psychiatrists who treat and question him.
The judge wrote that while Bixby “has often disagreed with counsel and expresses distrust regarding their strategy in this proceeding, the evidence demonstrates that he understands their role, the rationale for why they are engaging in this competency proceeding, and that he can choose whether or not to cooperate with them.”
Gotta love sovereign citizens. Looney Tunes!