The Arkansas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and others will have a forum on mental illness and the death penalty at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Bowen School of Law’s Friday Courtroom.
Furonda Brasfield, executive director of the coalition, said there will be an informal discussion on mental illness, how it can affect behavior and how the criminal justice system deals with mental illness.
Likely to be discussed is the case of Jack Greene, convicted of capital murder and scheduled to be killed by the state Nov. 9. His attorneys say he’s mentally incompetent to be executed. The state Correction Department thinks otherwise.
Participants include Rep. Vivian Flowers, who tried in 2017 to pass legislation to preclude the death penalty for people with serious mental illnesses; Julie Vandiver, one of Jack Greene’s attorneys; a clinical psychologist and a representative of Judicial Equality for Mental Illness.