Richard Hickock's Death Penalty Case

In Texas, a man with schizophrenia was executed (Kelsey Patterson) even after the Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended clemency after learning of his time spent in mental hospitals and his unintelligible rambling.

The two had made a very psychotic decision. Even Dick had come to the conclusion that maybe Perry was consciousless and cold blooded after ¨Perry described a murder, telling how, "simply for the hell of it," he had killed a colored man in Las Vegas - beaten him to death with a bicycle chain" (Page 35, The Last to See Them Alive).The statement, ” But the way it was, it was like picking off targets in a shooting gallery." (Page 184, The Corner), shows that clearly it is noticeable that Perry does not care about what he did and did not hesitate to do it. Another statement was made saying, “But murderers who seem rational, coherent, and controlled, and yet whose homicidal acts have a bizarre, apparently senseless quality, pose a difficult problem.”

Debate over capital punishment is nothing new, but it reaches a whole new level when the accused is mentally ill. The question then becomes… was the perpetrator aware of his heinous actions by knowing right from wrong at the time of the crime or was the mental illness controlling his actions? While being sympathetic to the grief and heart break of the victim’s loved ones, I believe that execution for the mentally ill should not be allowed, because often their illness makes them incapable of knowing right and wrong of their actions. Many of those with mental illnesses often go undiagnosed and untreated, either by choice or by financial circumstances, because of the stigma and general lack of understanding associated with this type of diagnosis in our society.

Hickock was able to use this to his advantage, often referring to Smith as “honey,” to appeal to his attraction (15). Hickock was the one who wanted to rob the Clutters originally; he was the one who obtained the information, albeit false, from Floyd Wells. Smith was persuaded later to help out, most likely by Hickock promising him a hefty sum from the job. Later, at the Clutters’ abode, Smith told Hickock, “‘these people are telling the truth. The one who lied is your friend Floyd Wells. There isn’t any safe, so let’s get the hell out of here,’” but, “He said he wouldn’t believe it till we searched the whole house,” and then, “says Dick, after we’ve found the safe, we’ll cut their throats” (239). Smith preferred not to kill them, and told Hickock he wanted to leave, but he refused to leave and insisted that they should continue searching and then kill them. Hickock directed Smith to murder the Clutters, which according to the wording of the law, proves he is guilty of this aggravating circumstance.

He dropped the silver dollar and “ It made me sick. I was just disgusted” (240). Perry visualizes himself in “ some nutty movie “ (240), which made him ball up with frustration and irritation knowing that he came for a safe full of money, and not picking up a silver dollar off a floor of a child’s room. The outcome ended up killing Mr. Clutter when Perry was testing Dick “ to admit he was a phony and coward”(244) who can’t kill anyone, but once he knelt down, the pain in his knees reminded him of the sentiment he had when he retrieved the silver dollar. This indicates that perry was not psychologically unstable when he killed the Clutter family, he had his emotions take over his actions. In the M’Naghten rule it states the defendant cannot know right from wrong, which Perry knew what he was doing but kept on proceeding with his

Perry confessed to murdering members of the clutters but states the following after he concludes he had no intention of killing Mr. Clutter: “They [the Clutters] never hurt me. Like other people. Like people have all my life. Maybe it’s just that the Clutters were the ones who had to pay for it” (Capote 302). The repetition of the word ‘like’ emphasizes the presence of people that hurt Perry throughout his life. The Clutters were not a motive of the crime; the Clutters were the opposite of what clouded his mind on the night of the murders. For one moment, the Clutters were seen as the abusive family in several incidences throughout Perry’s life. A murderer is considered insane if they have a motive for their crime. Perry emphasizes that he had no intention in hurting the clutters because they were unlike other toxic people in his life, but ultimately his past was the overarching reason for his crime. Perry is insane; insane enough that his past controls his actions so much he commits murder. It is wrong to put Perry to death for the actions of a monster inside him when he only had good intentions

In the novel "In Cold Blood," Perry Smith committed many lethal murders while having no remorse. Some wonder if Perry's actions are due to his upbringing as a child, or the fact of who he was around in his life. Perry Smith went through many hardships in his lifetime. Some of which included torture by a nurse, all the way to being thrown into prison. Individuals are controlled primarily by their nurture rather than their nature, and I believe this is the case for Mr. Smith. Yes, Perry committed the murders of which were very vile and futile, but I believe there was a deeper reason for it than what was portrayed in the book.

Perry admitted to killing the clutters, so why should anyone question that it wasn't his fault. People heard Perry’s story of his childhood and began to feel bad for him. the didn't think that he was a victim of his circumstances, they just wanted a happy ending to his messed up life. They were blinded by the fact that he brutally murdered a entire family with the help of Dick Hickock. Perry also admitted to thinking about killing Dick also, just because he didn't want any “witnesses”. If Smith was truly a victim of his circumstances, wouldn’t you think that he would want to keep the only person actually helped him do

Perry smith had a lousy childhood and from my point of view, it shaped him into the person he is today,it could be the incentive we have been looking for.Perry's childhood saved a child's innocence but took her life. "Smith told me he had no respect for anyone who couldn't control their sexual desires, and that he would have fought Hickock before allowing him to rape the Clutter girl." Perry is dominated so easy, but also has a very deep aggression to people who are sexually obsessed,When Dick wanted to rape Nancy Perry stopped him.Why would Perry stop Nancy from getting raped just to kill her.Perry himself has had the same thoughts, but never acted on them because he knows right from wrong,what made butchering the Clutter family right or even wrong.Years and years of

Charles Singleton’s execution is unjust because he was mentally ill. Justice Powel, associate justice, states, ” The Eighth Amendment forbids the execution only of those who are unaware of the punishment they are about to suffer and why they are to suffer it” (https://www.aclu.org/mental-illness-and-death-penalty). Charles Singleton was a schizophrenic, a disorder that shows atypical social behavior and not knowing what is real. The U.S. Supreme Court also confirmed that it is unconstitutional to kill someone who's mental capabilities are not within normal standards (n.d.). NAMI. Charles Singleton’s execution is unjust as he was insane but medicated to be sane. He was forced to take antipsychotic medications initially so he would not harm other

Dick and Perry did commit the crimes of The Clutters Family but while at court Perry wanted to change his statement because he felt bad for Dicks mother. After they got sentenced to be put on death row which mean they will get the death penalty but they don’t give them a specific date on when they will be executed. Dick and Perry know they did bad things. Perry had a abusive childhood and an alcoholic mother who didn’t really watch him. Perry believed to have a mental illness and didn’t show that he felt remorse of the crime he committed, “I didn’t want to harm the man.

This quote from Perry’s confession shows the reader an insight on his thoughts for his actions. It’s a key evidence to the crime when it comes down to Perry being insane. It is even ironic because people don't usually murder others who they find nice. It reveals how outside of their zone they were that night. The Clutter’s did nothing wrong to be killed. They were killed because of what they represented to Perry. Mr. Clutter was the father Perry never had and the scapegoat. Perry wanted a happy family he could count on and out of frustration he took it out on them. It goes to show that he committed the murder out of pure envy and jealousy. He genuinely did not want to hurt the family only to get rid of what he never had. His confession proves

Breaking news today in the Clutter case that we have been tracking here at Justice News. Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, alleged perpetrators of the murder of the Clutter family, were given the death penalty. Hickock and Smith were accused of killing the Clutter, family of 4, on November 15, 1959 in Holcomb, Kansas, before robbing them of a couple of dollars and household goods, then fleeing to Mexico. The men were arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 30.

This article concerns a Texas man named Scott Panetti who committed murder by shooting his wife’s parents. Scott Panetti was diagnosed with schizophrenia about 14 years prior to the shootings, and was set to receive a lethal injection; however, the execution was stop do to “the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledges the legal complexity of putting a mentally ill inmate to death.” The court explains that they had to sort out legal issues that are involved with mental instability.

Dick hickock’s involvement in the clutter murders began when he solicited Perry’s help in planning the crimes, so he is the mastermind of this heinous crime and is just as guilty, if not more guilty than Perry. In the novel dick is the first person to come up with the plan. While in prison dick came up with a plan to get a lot of money (a cinch he called it) while talking to Floyd wells one of Herbert clutter former employees. He heard that Mr. Clutter had a safe filled with thousands of dollars it was then that he came up with a plan to rob the clutters and start a new life in Mexico. Dick said to Floyd wells he’s going to (splatter hair on them walls) leave no witness. This show that dick premeditated this crime having come up with this plan in prison and show that he is the architect of this crime. And this voids dicks excuse that he shouldn’t get the death penalty because he didn’t pull the trigger because while he didn’t pull the trigger he still is the mastermind of this crime. Also dick when he made this plan decided to include Perry in his plan to rob the clutters he immediately wrote a letter to Perry inviting him to help him rob the clutters after getting out of prison. This shows that dick is mastermind behind the clutter murders because here he is pulling someone else to assist him in committing this crime