ARTICLE 9 - EXECUTION OF DEATH SENTENCE

 

7-13-901.� Notice that convict lacks requisite mental capacity.

 

(a)� As used in W.S. 7-13-901 through 7-13-903:

 

(i)� "Court" means the district court which has sentenced a convict to punishment of death;

 

(ii)� "Designated examiner" means a licensed psychiatrist or the combination of a licensed physician and a licensed psychologist who act in concert;

 

(iii)� "Facility" means the Wyoming state hospital or other facility designated by the court which can adequately provide for the security, examination or treatment of the convict;

 

(iv)� "Custodian" means the sheriff, warden, or head of any facility in which the convict is being held pending execution of the death sentence;

 

(v)� "Requisite mental capacity" means the ability to understand the nature of the death penalty and the reasons it was imposed.

 

(b)� If it appears to any custodian or other interested person that any convict sentenced to the� punishment of death does not have the requisite mental capacity, the custodian or interested person shall immediately� give notice in writing to the court.

 

(c)� Notice to the court under subsection (b) of this section shall be detailed and accompanied by all psychiatric or psychological reports or evaluations made of the convict since the imposition of the death sentence.

 

7-13-902.� Examination of convict to determine mental capacity; hearing; finding of court.

 

(a)� If the court finds from the notice in W.S. 7-13-901(b) that there is reasonable cause to believe that the convict does not have the requisite mental capacity, the court shall stay the execution and order an examination of the convict by a designated examiner. The order may direct examination at the place of confinement or at any other designated facility.

 

(b)� If the order provides for examination at a designated facility, commitment to that facility for the study of the mental condition of the convict shall continue no longer than a thirty (30) day period.

 

(c)� Upon completion of the examination of the convict the designated examiner shall provide a report in writing to the court of his:

 

(i)� Detailed findings; and

 

(ii)� Opinion as to whether the convict has the requisite mental capacity and, if the convict does not have the requisite mental capacity, the probable duration of that incapacity.

 

(d)� The clerk of court shall deliver copies of the report to the attorney general and the district attorney and to the convict or his counsel. Within five (5) days after receiving the copy of the report, the convict, his counsel or the state may upon written request obtain an order granting them an examination of the convict by a designated examiner of their own choosing. If such an examination is ordered, a report conforming to the requirements of subsection (c) of this section shall be furnished to the court and to the opposing party.

 

(e)� If the state, the convict or his counsel does not contest the opinion referred to in subsection (c) of this section, the court may make a determination and finding of record on the basis of the report filed or may hold a hearing on its own motion. If the opinion is contested, the court shall conduct a hearing at which the report or reports may be received in evidence. The parties may summon and cross-examine the persons who provided the report or rendered opinions contained therein and offer evidence upon the issue of the convict's requisite mental capacity.

 

(f)� If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the convict does not have the requisite mental capacity, the judge shall suspend the execution of the convict until a time when it is found that the convict has the requisite mental capacity.

 

(g)� Upon the court finding that the convict does not have the requisite mental capacity, the court shall issue notice thereof to the convict, the governor, the attorney general and the district attorney.

 

(h)� Unless the convict is represented by counsel, the court shall appoint an attorney to represent him.

 

(j)� During the hearing, the convict shall have an opportunity to be heard either personally or through his counsel. Counsel for the convict may introduce any relevant evidence bearing upon the convict's requisite mental capacity.

 

(k)� If the court finds that the convict has the requisite mental capacity, the court shall issue an order detailing its findings and conclusions and appointing a time for the convict's execution.

 

7-13-903.� Suspension of execution of convict lacking requisite mental capacity; periodic reexaminations; subsequent proceedings.

 

(a)� If the court finds that the convict does not have the requisite mental capacity, the judge shall suspend the execution of the convict. Thereafter a designated examiner shall reexamine the convict at least every twelve (12) months at the direction of the court. After two (2) annual examinations the court may suspend reexamination of the convict.

 

(b)� When the designated examiner determines after examination required by this section that the conditions justifying the suspension of the execution of the death sentence no longer exist, he shall immediately report his determination to the court.� The court shall commence a new hearing according to W.S. 7-13-902.

 

7-13-904.� Method of execution.

 

(a)� When sentence of death is imposed by the court in any criminal case, the punishment of death shall be executed by the administration of a continuous intravenous injection of a lethal quantity of an ultra-short-acting barbiturate in combination with a chemical paralytic agent and potassium chloride or other equally effective substances sufficient to cause death, until death is pronounced by a licensed physician according to accepted standards of medical practice. The sentence of death shall be executed within the time prescribed by law, unless, for cause shown, the court or governor extends the time. Administration of the injection does not constitute the practice of medicine.

 

(b)� If the execution of the sentence of death as provided in subsection (a) of this section is held unconstitutional, the sentence of death shall be executed by the administration of lethal gas within the time prescribed by law unless for cause shown, the court or the governor extends the time.

 

7-13-905.� Place and time; supervision.

 

 

(a)� A sentence of death shall be executed within the confines of a state penal institution designated by the director of the department of corrections, before the hour of sunrise on the day specified in the warrant which shall not be less than thirty (30) days after the date of the judgment.

 

(b)� The execution shall be carried out under the supervision and direction of the director of the department of corrections.

 

7-13-906.� Issuance and delivery of warrant.

 

Whenever a person is sentenced to death, the judge passing sentence shall issue a warrant, signed by the judge and attested by the clerk under the seal of the court, reciting the conviction and sentence and fixing a date of execution. The warrant shall be directed to the director of the department of corrections and shall be delivered by the sheriff at the time the prisoner is delivered to the state penal institution designated by the director.

 

7-13-907.� Confinement pending execution; visitors.

 

 

(a)� The administrator of the state penal institution shall keep a person sentenced to death in solitary confinement until execution of the death penalty, except the following persons shall be allowed reasonable access to the prisoner:

 

(i)� The prisoner's physician and lawyers;

 

(ii)� Relatives and spiritual advisers of the prisoner; and

 

(iii)� Persons involved in examining a prisoner believed to be pregnant or mentally unfit to proceed with the execution of the sentence.

 

7-13-908.� Witnesses.

 

 

(a)� Only the following witnesses may be present at the execution:

 

(i)� The director of the department of corrections and any persons deemed necessary to assist him in conducting the execution;

 

(ii)� Two (2) physicians, including the prison physician;

 

(iii)� The spiritual advisers of the prisoner;

 

(iv)� The penitentiary chaplain;

 

(v)� The sheriff of the county in which the prisoner was convicted; and

 

(vi)� Not more than ten (10) relatives or friends requested by the prisoner.

 

7-13-909.� Setting of new execution date following unexecuted sentence.

 

If for any reason a sentence of death has not been executed and remains in force, the court in which sentence was pronounced, on application of the district attorney, shall, if no legal reason exists for not proceeding with the execution of the sentence, enter an order setting a new date for the execution of the sentence, which shall not be less than thirty (30) days from the date of the order. The court may order the prisoner to be brought before it or, if the prisoner is at large, issue a warrant for the prisoner's arrest. The court shall also issue a new warrant� directed to the director of the department of corrections to carry out the execution of the sentence as provided by W.S. 7-13-906.

 

7-13-910.� Suspension until specified day or temporary reprieve; return of warrant.

 

 

(a)� If execution of sentence is suspended until a specified day or if a temporary reprieve is granted until a specified day, the fact of the suspension or reprieve shall be noted on the warrant. On the arrival of the specified day the director of the department of corrections shall proceed with the execution without the necessity for the issuance of a new warrant.

 

(b)� In all cases, the director of the department of corrections shall make a return upon the warrant to the court which sentenced the prisoner.

 

7-13-911.� Suspension to permit review; confinement; return to county for retrial.

 

 

(a)� A prisoner sentenced to death whose sentence is suspended pending an appeal shall be confined in a state penal institution designated by the director of the department of corrections during the period of suspension.

 

(b)� If the prisoner is granted a new trial he shall be returned to the jail of the county in which he was originally convicted.

 

7-13-912.� Inquiry concerning pregnancy of female prisoner.

 

 

(a)� If there is good reason to believe that a female sentenced to death is pregnant, the director of the department of corrections shall immediately give written notice to the� court in which the judgment of death was rendered and to the district attorney. The execution of the death sentence shall be suspended pending further order of the court.

 

(b)� Upon receiving notice as provided in subsection (a) of this section, the court shall appoint a jury of three (3) physicians to inquire into the supposed pregnancy and to make a written report of their findings to the court.

 

7-13-913.� Determination of court as to pregnancy; suspension of sentence.

 

 

(a)� If the court determines the female is not pregnant, the director of the department of corrections shall execute the death sentence.

 

(b)� If the court determines the female is pregnant, the court shall order the execution of the sentence suspended until it is determined that the female is no longer pregnant at which time the court shall issue a warrant appointing a new date for the execution of the sentence.

 

7-13-914.� Transportation to penal institution.

 

A prisoner sentenced to death shall be transported to the state penal institution designated by the director of the department of corrections at state expense.

 

7-13-915.� Disposition of body.

 

The body of any prisoner who has been executed shall be decently buried at the expense of the state, unless the body is claimed by any relative or friend in which case the body may be delivered to the relative or friend for the purpose of burial.