Last week, Arkansas executed a man who sat on death row for nearly 25 years. Charles Singleton was convicted and sentenced to death in 1979 but could not be executed until he was given medications to make him mentally fit to be executed. In Missouri, another man who has waited on death row nearly as long probably won’t be executed any time soon. Elroy Preston was sentenced to death in July, 1982, for the stabbing death of a roommate. But several years later he was diagnosed with a brain disorder that cannot be treated – and that makes him mentally incompetentto stand trial. Attorney General Jay Nixon says he’s not happy the state cannot carry out the sentence the people gave Preston but this life sentence will have to do. Nixon says the State will continue to monitor Preston to see if his condition changes.
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