Double Tragedies - Families for Human Rights

Appendix B: MethodologyCriteria for participation in the projectParticipation in the “Prevention, Not Execution” project requiresthat an individual be opposed to the death penalty forpersons with severe mental illness and be• a family member of a victim who was killed by a personoutside their family who had been diagnosed with severemental illness;• a family member of a victim who was killed by a personwithin the same family who had been diagnosed with severemental illness; or• a family member of a person diagnosed with severe mentalillness who has been executedFor persons in the first two groups, the legal outcome of thedefendant’s case may vary. Participation in the project does notrequire the case to have resulted in the death penalty – onlythat the individual accused of the killing had been diagnosedwith severe mental illness at the time of the offense.Family members of individuals diagnosed with severe mentalillness and currently in prison or on death row – but not yetexecuted — may be involved in the project as supporters and allies,but are not direct participants and were not interviewedfor this report.How the participants were foundSome participants were members of Murder Victims’ Familiesfor Human Rights and/or the National Alliance on Mental Illnessprior to the development of this project, and they participatedin early discussions about its form, direction, and scope.Others were found through research and direct outreach, andwere invited to participate if they met the above criteria.How the interviews were conductedMost of the interviews were conducted via telephone byMVFHR staff member Susannah Sheffer. Interviews wererecorded and transcribed with the subjects’ permission. Twoof the interviews were conducted in person by the staff of theTexas After Violence Project. (The Texas After Violence Projectconducts oral history interviews with people who have beenaffected by the death penalty in Texas, including families ofvictims and families of the executed).Definition of “severe mental illness”The project has from the start used as its guideline the Recommendationadopted by the American Bar Association Houseof Delegates in 2006 regarding exempting mentally ill defendantsfrom the death penalty. The recommendation was developedby a Task Force on Mental Disability and the DeathPenalty, which, according to the description in the ABA document,“carried out its deliberations from April, 2003 to March,2005, [and] was composed of 24 lawyers and mental healthprofessionals (both practitioners and academics), and includedmembers of the American Psychiatric Association and theAmerican Psychological Association. The American PsychiatricAssociation and the American Psychological Association haveofficially endorsed the Task Force’s proposal.”See the relevant excerpt from the Recommendation, about thedefinition of mental illness for these purposes, in our AppendixA, pages 26-27.The report is based on interviews with (and supplemental materialfrom) 21 family members who meet the above criteria.The majority but not all of those interviewed for the reportalso participated in the private gathering and public event inSan Antonio on October 3, 2008 that marked the official launchof the project. Interviewees quoted in this report are from tenstates: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine,Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas.Other similar stories from family members whom we were notable to interview directly have also informed our thinking onthe issue.__ 29 __