印第安纳州最高法院一致驳回死刑犯推迟执行申请：11月5日执行不变
印第安纳州最高法院10月22日一致驳回死刑犯杰弗里·韦舍特（Jeffrey Weisheit）推迟执行的申请。韦舍特请求将执行推迟至11月19日并暂缓宽赦程序，以便专家评估其在2010年作案前所受脑损伤是否影响其行为。法院表示，如假释委员会或州长认为医学证据相关，行政部门有权在无需法院命令的情况下自行安排运送与检测。
韦舍特2013年被判处死刑，罪名是在 Evansville 附近的家中纵火杀害8岁的 Alyssa Lynch 和她5岁的弟弟 Caleb，作案时两名孩子的母亲、即韦舍特的女友正在上夜班。他的执行定于11月5日日出前在 Michigan City 的印第安纳州立监狱进行。印第安纳假释委员会已于10月16日和19日听取证词，截至22日尚未宣布宽赦建议，最终决定权在州长 Mike Braun 手中。
法院还指出，辩方此前提出、可能寻求暂缓执行的另外两项理由，即挑战印第安纳州的执行方式和请求重开定罪后程序，截至22日均未正式提交。联邦地区法官 Sarah Evans Barker 此前已批准脑部扫描的经费，但于10月7日裁定她无权强制州官员运送囚犯，为州级宽赦程序取证。
据报道，在宽赦听证中，两个孩子的父亲支持将刑期改判为终身监禁、不得假释，孩子的母亲则要求维持死刑判决。
Indiana Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects Inmate's Bid to Delay Execution for Brain Scans: November 5 Date Stands
The Indiana Supreme Court on October 22 unanimously rejected death row inmate Jeffrey Weisheit's request to postpone his execution for brain scans. Weisheit had sought to move his execution to November 19 and postpone clemency proceedings so experts could assess brain injuries they contend affected his behavior before the 2010 murders. The court said that if the parole board or the governor finds the medical evidence relevant, the executive branch maintains its own authority to transport him for testing without a court order.
Weisheit was sentenced to death in 2013 for killing 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and her 5-year-old brother, Caleb, in a fire at his home near Evansville while their mother, his girlfriend, worked an overnight shift. His execution is scheduled to take place before sunrise on November 5 at Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. The Indiana Parole Board heard testimony on October 16 and 19 and had announced no clemency recommendation as of October 22; the final decision rests with Governor Mike Braun.
The court also noted that two other potential grounds for a stay that Weisheit's attorneys had identified, a challenge to Indiana's execution method and a request to reopen post-conviction proceedings, had not been filed as of October 22. U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker previously approved funding for the brain scans but ruled on October 7 that she lacked authority to compel state officials to transport him for evidence gathering in a state clemency case.
At the clemency hearing, the children's father reportedly supported commuting the sentence to life in prison without parole, while their mother asked that the death sentence stand.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：印第安纳州议会大厦（Indianapolis），作者 Diego Delso，CC BY-SA 3.0，来源 Wikimedia Commons
