Judge mulls Arizona prisoner’s mental fitness to be executed

By JACQUES BILLEAUD
Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — A judge plans to issue a ruling Tuesday night on a request by an Arizona prisoner to stop his May 11 execution on the grounds that his psychological problems keep him from rationally understanding why the state wants to end his life. Lawyers for Clarence Dixon say executing their client in the 1978 killing of 21-year-old college student Deana Bowdoin would violate protections against executing people who are mentally unfit. Prosecutors said there was nothing preventing Dixon from understanding the reason for the execution. Dixon would be the first person executed in Arizona in nearly eight years